“Completed their work 100%”: what the players and Zenit head coach said after defeating Benfica

“The next matches will show how Zenit is ready”

The match with Benfica turned out to be successful for Zenit both in terms of results and content. Petersburgers not only beat a strong enough opponent, but also did it confidently. Not only that, the Russian champion could well defeat the best team in Portugal, but in the end he conceded an unnecessary ball. However, this did not spoil the mood of the head coach of the blue-white-blue Sergey Semak.

Moreover, at a press conference, the specialist chose to hide his emotions and noted that this result did not increase Zenit's chances of winning a ticket to the 1/8 finals.

“Nothing has changed. We are in the game, we are still fighting for access to the playoffs. The following matches will show how Zenit is ready to compete with rivals in the group. You see, the same "Lyon" won on the road. So no one will have light matches here. Today we played a little better, and tomorrow another team will prove itself, ”Semak summed up.

But commenting on the episode with a missed ball, Sergei Bogdanovich could not resist criticizing Andrei Lunev, who once again played in a bad way at the start of the season.

“The batter needed to be more actively met, not to allow him to strike on goal. But I can’t call him untrustworthy either. Although, if you take the ball that was missed in the game with Lokomotiv, you can’t say that he is completely on Lunev’s conscience, because he did not see the moment of the blow. Our opornik Vilmar Barrios should actively interfere with Grzegorz Krychowiak. But today Andrey had to help out, because the blow was taken from one step without a start - it could be taken, ”added Semak.

Finally, the trainer spoke about the health status of Artyom Dziuba, who at the end of the meeting moved around the field with difficulty and noticeably limped.

“I hope nothing serious has happened to Dziuba and everything will cost a severe bruised hip. When it becomes clogged after a strong blow, it is very unpleasant. I believe that Artyom will be able to take part in the next match, ”said Semak.

In turn, the mentor of “Benfica” Bruno Lage was very upset and said that his team had failed the match.

“At some point, we regained control of the game, but immediately missed the second and third goals. It’s especially a shame that an own goal happened. And the goal of Serdar Azmun deprived us of hope. Now you need to forget this match as soon as possible and move forward. “Benfica” needs to play in Europe as much as in the domestic championship, ”said Lage.

At the same time, the coach claimed responsibility for the two defeats of the Lisbon in the Champions League.

“We need to analyze the situation, understand what to do now. We knew that “Zenith”, most likely, would play according to the 4-4-2 scheme, developed a strategy with this in mind. They tried to play with long gears, diagonals, tried to actively use the flanks. But striker Haris Seferovich did not succeed, he did not give the necessary dynamics. We had moments in the match against Leipzig, but today we haven’t offered anything to the opponent, ”complained Lage even upset.

“Thanks to our fans, this atmosphere is worth a lot”

As for the Zenit players, they were in a good mood, in particular, injured Dziub. Artyom told reporters with a smile that he “received a moose” from an opponent at the end of the first half. At the same time, the author of the first goal demanded to add to him an assistant score.

“I think I still need to record an assist for a pass to Azmuna. The English call it a hidden productive pass, and the founders of football are still versed in the game, ”the striker joked.

At the same time, he called Benfica a good team and emphasized that Zenit had the task of preventing the opponent from feeling at home.

“From the first minutes we turned on the active pressure, and the Portuguese and Spaniards really do not like it. They don’t like it when they play hard. As a result, the pressure led to the mistake we scored. In the future, everything also developed in our favor. This is the Champions League. Home match. Thanks to our fans, such an atmosphere is worth a lot, ”Dziuba explained.

The player also admitted that he was surprised by the failure of Leipzig in the game with Lyon in the parallel match of group G.

“They were sure that the German team would win, yet the wards of Julian Nagelsman were the favorites of the group, a strong team. So shocked at the home defeat of Leipzig, it seems that the matches with the German vice champion will be decisive, ”Dziuba suggested.

A significant role in the victory over Benfica was played by Magomed Ozdoev. The midfielder not only made a huge amount of work in the base zone, but also gave two assists. The first one turned out to be especially valuable when a football player from someone else's penalty box pressed Lubomir Feysu, forced him to make a mistake and threw Dziuba into the breakthrough.

“We had a game plan. The coaching staff suggested what kind of weaknesses Benfica has. I think we have completed our work 100 percent. It was a very good game, which, I hope, was liked by the fans. Most importantly, they scored three points. How did you get the ball in the moment with the first goal? I realized that you need to go into pressure in the middle of the field, because opponents often went from there to dribbling. In that episode, everything turned out as it should, ”Ozdoev said on Match TV.

Ozdoev’s partner in the base zone of Barrios also held a chic match.

“Step by step, we are moving towards our goal - leaving the group. We wanted to win at home and did our job. Zenit has not played at home in the Champions League for a long time. And for me personally it was a particularly important match, because I made my debut in the Champions League at Gazprom Arena, ”the Championship footballer quotes.

Successfully came out to replace the newcomer Zenith Vyacheslav Karavaev. Having barely appeared on the field in the middle of the second half, he made a jerk along the flank and forced Ruben Dias to cut the ball into his own goal. After that, the confrontation actually ended.

“The debut at the Gazprom Arena in the Champions League was excellent. The main thing is that they won and scored three points. The support was crazy. Many thanks to the fans who came to the stadium and drove the Zenit forward. As for my game, I think it came out not bad. Moreover, before the match, the coaches did not discuss a possible transition to the 3-5-2 scheme. It turns out that this was a situational decision. But in the end, they made a mistake and conceded an unnecessary ball. Thank God, they brought the matter to victory, ”the defender shared his impressions.