St. Petersburg "Zenit" for the first time this season, lost points in the fourth round match of the Russian Premier League (RPL). Home meeting with "Krasnodar" ended in a draw - 1: 1. The scoreboard was opened by the defender of the owners Douglas Santos, scoring the ball into his own goal.
According to midfielder Alexander Erokhin, blue-white-blue had to show character to recoup, but teammates do not blame the Brazilian for the mistake.
“We wanted to win, but by the way the meeting developed, it’s good that we managed to win. Goal in our goal - an accident. We supported Douglas, he is not to blame. Plus, our team showed character and still created chances, ”quotes Erokhin“ Championship ”.
Forward Artem Dziuba, equalized the score in extra time, paid tribute to the "Krasnodar". He noted that both opponents prefer open football and demonstrate a similar game, but half of the meeting did not resemble each other.
“An interesting match, everyone liked. In the first half, emotions were overwhelmed, but it was informative. The second half turned out to be alive, in which Zenit had an overwhelming advantage. The rival did not create anything, we scored ourselves. But we have character, it would be a shame to lose to a direct competitor. “Krasnodar” is a cool team, I like to play with such, ”said the Russian.
In addition, he admitted that he considers his current goal as the best goal of his entire career.
“I forgot to tell Azmun that I scored my best ball today, because it was the first pass in his career. Thanks to him, still arriving in shock: “Serdar gave someone a pass!”, Joked Joob.
Midfielder Magomed Ozdoev was also pleased with the performance of “Zenith”. According to him, the key goal of the match was an own goal, after which the wards of Sergei Semak managed to get together and take control of the game in their hands.
“We fully owned the initiative, played well. In the second half, the opponent did not go beyond his half of the field, but Zenit received a random goal. After that, they increased the pace, made it even, could still score, there were moments. Thanks to the fans for coming at such a late time, it was a great match. I think we will score more. Sometimes there are problems with implementation. There is nothing wrong with a missed gol, it happens, ”Ozdoev stressed.
The episode with the second goal scored outraged the players of "Krasnodar". According to them, Branislav Ivanović broke the rule on midfielder Toni Vilene, after which the hosts conducted a high-speed attack, which led to a goal being scored. Forward guest Ari said that the referee Alexei Eskov unjustly made most of the decisions in favor of the blue-white-blue.
“We are unhappy with the result of the match. The referee was very bad. He did not give a foul when Zenit scored a goal and the score was 1: 1. Of course, there was a violation of the rules! He must watch var. "Krasnodar" lost the victory because of the judge. We knew it would be hard. But you saw that after the first goal Eskov began to give all the whistles in favor of the opponent. It is difficult to play with such a team and referee, ”shared the opinion of Ari.
However, the players of Zenit expressed disagreement with opponents. So, Ivanovich himself stressed that the selection of the ball was made without breaking the rules.
“It was a tough game. Krasnodar had a good first half, created chances, but we lacked concentration to score. Both teams are both satisfied and unhappy with the score. In the moment with the ball scored the guests decided that I fouls. But I immediately say that there was no contact. In addition, there is a VAR, all of the case. As for the missed goal, it happens a lack of communication. Such a dangerous team can always punish for a mistake, ”said the captain of the blue-white-blue.
Teammate held and Ozdoev.
“Foul in the moment with our goal? They always write this on the Internet, but why did they come up with VAR? ”Said the midfielder.
In the match with "Krasnodar" in the St. Petersburg debuted striker Malcolm. He entered the field in the 72nd minute instead of midfielder Alexei Sutormin. For the remainder of the meeting, the Brazilian was unable to distinguish himself with productive actions, but teammates expressed confidence that in a short time the football player will be able to get comfortable and show what he can do.
“The first game is always very hard. I think he showed his good qualities. We really need such a player, we expect that he will join the team, the adaptation period will pass and he will show himself, ”quotes Ivanovich Sport Sport.
Dziuba expressed a similar point of view. He said that Malcolm had already managed to get acquainted with the team, and also received a light kick from the attacker, which is traditionally given to all newcomers in the first training session.
“As for Malcolm, it is clear that they just don’t get to Barcelona. A very technical guy, it takes time to adapt to our league. I hope he will be like the Hulk on Minimals. I was not going to regret in the tunnel, my corner kick passed by all. Over 40 million you came, for free or an agronomist - everyone will receive it, ”the striker said.
The Brazilian himself was pleased with his first match in the RPL, as well as the level of play of the Russian teams. According to him, he needs time to feel confident and to establish contact with teammates, but with hard work and patience this will happen in the next meetings.
“The impressions are good, it could have ended better. The level of Russian football is pretty good, this game is active. The attack of “Zenith” was replaced by the attack of “Krasnodar”. We had more chances to score. Do not hesitate to show dribbling, but in situations where I did the transfer, teammates were in a better position. I always try to push the ball forward, so I gave the pass. We need to get used to teammates, but I am not an egoist, I never feel sorry for giving a pass, ”Malcolm commented on the results of the meeting.