CSKA became stronger and more stable: Khokhlov on the Moscow derby, the development of CSKA and Lokomotiv's staffing problems

"I don't want to guess on the coffee grounds what Goncharenko will do"

- CSKA won three matches in a row in the RPL.

CSKA got stronger, or is it just a coincidence?

- In my opinion, CSKA is now definitely stronger and more stable than at the beginning of the season.

Any team has small slumps.

The most important thing is how the team experiences such moments.

The army team managed to successfully overcome them. 

- In the derby between CSKA and Spartak, red and white looked more preferable in the first 25 minutes.

Is it worth waiting for an active start from Lokomotiv?

- It depends on what tactics the railroad workers choose.

Sometimes teams really put the emphasis on strong opening and quick goals.

Whether Loko will follow this path, I cannot say. 

- In recent matches, Konstantin Maradishvili has become an important player in CSKA's roster, who will miss the meeting with Loko due to the overuse of yellow cards.

How big is this loss for the army?

- Talking about the absence of Maradishvili as a great loss is not worth it yet.

Now, if Igor Akinfeev, Nikola Vlasic or Mario Fernandez had missed the match, this would really seriously weaken the team. 

- Is it worth waiting for experienced Alan Dzagoev,

who recently recovered from injury,

- Alan has really had a lot of injuries lately.

To release it from the field, you need to know what state it is in.

If Dzagoev is not 100% ready, it seems to me that he should not be included in the starting line-up.

Alan's appearance in the support zone?

Playing in this position involves a lot of running and martial arts, and at the moment he is hardly ready to act there.

- CSKA conceded only one goal in recent matches.

Nevertheless, the team still makes a lot of mistakes in defense.

How to solve this problem?

- If there is no way to replace those players who fundamentally do not suit them, then we need to continue to train them and try to minimize the mistakes they make.

Maybe due to teamwork.

Or you can lower the holding midfielder deeper.

- Is Viktor Vasin so bad to lose the competition to 18-year-old Vadim Karpov, who is often wrong?

- I repeat, each coach decides for himself whether this or that performer suits him or not.

If he constantly falls through in the central zone, there is probably something wrong here. 

- In the first matches for CSKA, the newcomer of the team Chidera Ejuke showed himself brightly.

In the derby, will he be at the forefront of the attack or will he form a duet with Fyodor Chalov?

- It all depends on the tactical scheme that Goncharenko will choose.

You can release Chalov, or both at the same time.

But I do not want to guess on the coffee grounds what the head coach of CSKA will do.

At the moment, the red and blue play one striker.

And now the main forward of the team is Chalov. 

- Why did Fedor stop scoring?

- I do not see this as a problem.

There are maybe only five people in the whole world who score consistently.

The rest have both scoring streaks and slumps.

Sometimes the forwards can be different all the time, but then a period of "drought" sets in. 

- If we compare Fedor with Chidera, who would be more effective in the match against Lokomotiv?

- Chalov. 

- What was your general impression of Edzhuk's performance in the first matches for CSKA?

- Not yet.

It is necessary that the player plays not two or three matches, but a series of meetings.

Conclusions on Edzhuk appeared, probably, only from those fans and experts who know how to make them one game at a time.  

- Can you compare Edzhuke with Ahmed Musa?

- Too little time has passed to give the newcomer CSKA any assessments.

And why compare him with Musa?

And why not Denis Cheryshev or someone else?

I repeat, time must pass. 

"It's pointless to talk about championship prospects now"

- How can the slow defenders of the red-greens, who often lose their position, cope with the high-speed attack of the army?

- I think Lokomotiv should work to avoid giving the opponent free zones.

It is also worth dropping much lower in order not to allow large gaps between the lines. 

- At the same time, both Lokomotiv's main supporting midfielders will miss the match against CSKA: Dmitry Barinov and Grzegorz Krykhovyak ...

- So, you need to play even more contact.

And this applies not only to the central midfielders.

The extreme must also meet opponents deeper.  

- We can assume that Lokomotiv will have young Stanislav Magkeev and Daniil Kulikov in the support zone.

Are they able to keep Vlašić?

- Vlašić is a very good footballer.

It's hard for everyone to act against him.

I think if Barinov played, he would have had a hard time.

Although you can restrain any player.

At the expense of contact, securing each other, and so on.

You need to competently build your game, and everything will work out.

- Does it make sense to personally guard the opponent's leader in matches of this level?

- Nobody plays personally for a long time.

Honestly, I don’t remember the last time I saw this. 

- After the departure of Alexei Miranchuk to Italy, Lokomotiv had serious problems in creating chances.

Do you think that Anton Miranchuk is able to replace his brother over time?

- Of course, the departure of Alexei Miranchuk is a huge loss.

I think that in this situation Anton will try to take on the role of a leader, and in some moments - a dispatcher.

Let's see how it goes, because in his youth, as they said, he was considered even more promising than his brother.

Here Anton will have an opportunity to prove himself a leader in the match with CSKA. 

- In recent matches, Lokomotiv mainly built attacks through the flanks.

To what extent will this be justified in the game against CSKA?

After all, Mario Fernandez will actively prevent the same Miranchuk from showing himself.

- Mario will often join attacks, and if the ball is delivered to his area of ​​responsibility, Fernandez may physically not have time to return.

This can be effective.

Another question is how quickly Lokomotiv will be able to break into these zones and send the ball there. 

- In the last RPL match with Ufa, Nikolic launched two attackers - Fedor Smolov and Eder, but the Portuguese was not very noticeable.

Shouldn't the Serbian coach play one forward and move Anton Miranchuk to the top ten?

- It's not a PlayStation to move players wherever we want.

Each footballer has a specific position in which he is used to acting.

If Anton is more used to playing on the flank, it is better for him to be there.

Of course, he can be forced to play one game in the center.

Miranchuk often came out in this position, but more often he showed himself from the edge or in the semi-flank.

I don't know if moving it to the center will give the desired effect. 

- Does it make sense to release from the first minutes instead of Eder Vitaly Lisakovich, who looks bright, coming out as a substitute?

- Probably yes.

In any case, Lisakovich is playing around with the coaches of the red-greens, and you called Eder's drawback - poor implementation.

It is possible that the time has come to give another player a chance.

To be honest, I honestly do not understand why the Portuguese gets so much playing time.  

- Against the background of problems in the attack, there are rumors that Lokomotiv will sign a contract with Mario Mandzhukic in the near future.

How logical is it for the club to acquire the 34-year-old striker, given that the management was in favor of rejuvenating the squad?

- Perhaps it makes sense to conclude a contract with him for a year.

Especially if the management fails to invite a younger striker.

In general, I would not look at age.

Take Cristiano Ronaldo, who is also quite a few years old, but he still has a line of the best clubs in the world behind him.

It's another matter whether Mandzhukich wants to play here, if he still arrives in Moscow.

It's the most important.

Yes, there are examples of Andre Schürrle and Claudio Marchisio, which did not work out in Russia, and parallels are immediately drawn.

But doesn't this happen to young people?

They also come and play the fool.

So I would not look into Mandzhukich's passport.

It is better to find out how motivated the footballer himself is to play in Russia. 

- If CSKA wins Lokomotiv, will it be possible to say that Viktor Goncharenko's team is capable of competing for the championship?

- No, absolutely.

This will be a step towards stability.

It will be possible to declare that they are competing for prizes.

But there are still 21 rounds ahead.

It is simply pointless to talk about the championship prospects of this or that club now.