The most important event of the match “Zenith” and “Locomotive” in the 20th round of the RPL was the removal of Yuri Semin. The head coach of the guests already at the 24th minute was forced to leave the edge because of two warnings issued by Evgeny Turbinny. The arbitrator punished the specialist for his emotional reaction to his own decisions. Semin said that in his words there was nothing such that he could be sent to the locker room.
“I didn’t say anything to the judge. I just showed him that this player ( Wilmar Barrios. - RT) for the third time makes a violation and should probably get a yellow card for this. There were no insults, no rude statements. First card? Same. I expressed dissatisfaction, and the plus was the exit from the allowed zone. I was unhappy that Benedict Höwedes cleanly took the ball away and they gave him a card. We can say that my absence on the edge did not affect the team. We can say what could have influenced, ”Semin said on the Match Premier broadcast.
As for the game, the Lokomotiv coach was pleased with the draw, which he considered a good result.
“In Petersburg, it’s very difficult to play with Zenit. This match is no exception. We had a very good defense game, less than usual in counterattacks. In fact - one thing when Alexei Miranchuk did not score. In defense, the whole team played brilliantly. One point in St. Petersburg is always forward movement. Satisfied with the actions of the players, "- quoted Zenin official site" Zenith ".
The coach also told how he led the team from the locker room, what happened to Vedran Chorluka at the end of the match, praised the defender Stanislav Magkeev and told what it was like to have only one central striker in the team.
“We kept in touch anyway. The game, in my opinion, went fine, there were no special, too big problems, as usual in St. Petersburg. The replacement was the one we made together. Chorluka has some kind of spasm of the anterior muscle. I think everything is fine, there is nothing serious. I am very pleased with the game Magkeev. He reserved a place for this period with his labor. I was very confident, more engaged in defensive work. This guy was signed in May with great difficulty. Satisfied that he remained in the “Locomotive”. There is only one center forward, we will look for options. Alexey Miranchuk played in this position today, he had a very good moment. Maybe Rifat Zhemaletdinov will play, someone else from the young. There are no others, the most important thing is that these are alive and well. And another 10 games, ”Semin summed up.
Zenit head coach Sergei Semak, too, was unsatisfied with the refereeing and said that his club would continue to fight for the championship despite an 11-point lead in the RPL standings.
“If we talk about refereeing, we’ll get a separate long dialogue, so I won’t touch it. I think the people who watched will sort out the judging. There were a lot of controversial decisions, and what they were probably decided by other people. There is a fight for the championship. We know this very well, and our business is to play and win. Points will be counted when the time comes. Today we wanted to win, and we did everything to win, but this was not enough. We will prepare for the next matches, ”said Semak.
At the same time, the St. Petersburg mentor considered a goalless draw a fair result, as the team could not prove themselves in the attack.
“It was a tough game, the first official one after a long pause. A lot of struggle and intensity, scoring chances not so much. In the first half, they acted worse, made a lot of mistakes in simple assists, the guests had the opportunity to escape into a counterattack. In the second half we added in this component, except for the moment in the end. I don’t know if there was an “offside” situation there or not. In the defense we played normally, in the attack - unfortunately, a small number of moments that could not be embodied in at least one goal scored. In principle, a fair result. We tried, wanted to win, but, unfortunately, it didn’t work out, ”the specialist summed up.
Semak also told when to wait for the return of Artem Dziuba and gave a characterization of the game of Malcolm, who first played the entire match.
“Regarding Artyom, I hope that he will soon begin to train with the team and we will see him on the field. He did not play for almost half a year. Today he moved well, naturally, he will add and create more sharpness. Do not forget that we played against one of the best teams in the country, met with a worthy opponent. Not only him, but also other players were not so easy to prove themselves, ”said the coach.
Lokomotiv defender Vedran Chorluka commented on his injury, due to which he was replaced at the end of the match, described Malkom, whom he was supposed to play against, and called Zenit a favorite in the fight for the championship.
“I have minor knee problems. I think in a week everything will be fine. Today did not have time to play the last five minutes. Derby is not a beautiful football. A draw would be fair. It is a pity that they did not score in the end. The lag behind the “Zenith”, of course, is large. We need to think about upcoming games. At the moment, “Zenith” is a favorite. And we will try to fight to the end. Did Malcolm seem to be the cosmos of the Russian championship? No, ”said the Croatian footballer.
The captain of “Zenith” Branislav Ivanovich told why the match with his former team ended in a goalless draw and how much time he and his partners would need to get in the right shape.
“Both teams were waiting for an event to happen on the field, after which they would start to play for real. But nothing happened, the match is over. The break was long, but nothing can be done. It always takes two or three games to get in shape. Friendly meetings are one thing, official meetings are another. Switching hard, but all in the same position. Having gathered form, the teams show football much better quality than we did today. It was a game of points - of course, this fact influenced the final score, ”said the defender.
Lokomotiv goalkeeper Marinato Guillerme admitted that he lacked Semin’s prompts and the match didn’t turn out spectacular because it was the first round after the winter break.
“The game was nervous. In the first half, both teams were equal, in the second - Zenit played better. We were close to victory, Miranchuk had a good chance. A draw is a fair result. Today was the first match after a long break. Not everyone is in the best physical and technical condition. There was no open football, so the match did not seem interesting to you. When Semin is on the edge, it is felt. Of course, his support and instructions were not enough, ”said the goalkeeper.
Defender of the “Zenith” Douglas Santos said what was not enough to win, and promised the fans that the team will progress.
“Good match. I think we controlled the game for 90 minutes, but we did not have the last pass. If we were more precise, we would have scored two or three goals. After the winter break, it was not easy. Of course, in order to feel more prepared, we need to have more matches, but even today our team has shown itself well - we have great pressure, attacked a lot. We will look even better every day, ”said the Brazilian.
Alexei Miranchuk said that he worked out his unrealized moment at the end of the match in the classroom, and then he managed to send the ball to the goal.
“In training, I managed to realize such a moment that I had at the end of the match. Maybe fatigue affected or failed performance. I began to think which foot is best to break through, these fractions of a second and prevented me. Probably, you might think that there are very few chances to catch up with Zenit. We will build on our game and squeeze the maximum. I hope that his brother will soon return to the field, as well as Borya Rotenberg and Farfan. We need these players, we are waiting for them. I hope they will help in the next match, ”said the Lokomotiv midfielder.