“The whole struggle for the championship is still ahead”: what did the players say after the victory of CSKA over Zenit in the RPL

"Overdid rival"

After the most important victory over Zenit, which, moreover, was the first for CSKA in more than four years in matches with St. Petersburg, in the camp of the army team did not hide the reserved joy.

General Director of the Moscow club Roman Babayev said that victory is important for the team from a psychological point of view.

“A great match, especially the first half. We have surpassed rival in everything. This victory is very important for us, because in the last matches we were haunted by failures: where we had to take three points, we could not catch on even one thing. It’s good that before the break for the matches of the national teams the guys achieved such a good result, ”quotes Babaev as“ the Championship.

Babayev also spoke about the condition of Ilzat Akhmetov. The 20-year-old midfielder of the army team received a call to the national team, but due to the injury sustained during the meeting with Zenit, he could miss matches with Germany and Sweden.

“Did Ilzat's damage change the game?” Partly, probably. The injury, unfortunately, unpleasant - a suspicion of dislocated shoulder. Now he put the joint in place, bandaged his hand - he almost can not move. More accurate information will be obtained after MRI. As for the national team, Ilzat will not come to the location of the national team on the first day, ”added Babayev.

In addition, the general director of CSKA appreciated the team’s chances of imposing a fight for the championship to Zenit. According to Babayev, the whole struggle in the RPL is still ahead.

“Competition in the championship was always high, the density in the table is serious. Now, in general, everything is on "thin." CSKA - the main competitor of "Zenith"? I do not think. There is a whole group of teams that fights for medals, ”concluded one of the leaders of the capital club.

The forward Fedor Chalov commented on the confident victory over the guests. The forward noted the progress in the actions of his team, while not disregarding the strengths of the opponent.

“We played well in the last matches, but could not reach the result. It's great that today we have broken this moment and managed to achieve success. Nothing special in our plan for the match with Zenit was not. It turned out to take away the ball in their half of the field, run away and score. They acted like this in both scoring episodes. On the whole, they played confidently. But Zenit is a good team. Today we are more fortunate, but in the next game, things can be different. Pitertsy not just go in the first place, “- said Chalov.

Like the general director of CSKA, the attacker also touched on the subject of the Russian national team. On Monday morning, Fedor will go to the location of the national team and due to injuries of Artem Dziuba and Denis Cheryshev are more likely to get a chance to take part in the next matches of the national team.

“Am I ready to become the main striker of the national team?” I will do everything that will depend on me. In general, the status of the top scorer RPL does not crush. I want to be useful in every game, to score as much as possible, ”Chalov said on the TV channel“ Match Premier ”.

Icelandic midfielder of CSKA Arnor Sigurdsson shared his opinion on the match. According to the legionary, the team was initially tuned only to win.

“We came to the match with Zenit solely with the goal of scoring three points, and nothing else interested us. Therefore, we moved forward, exerted a powerful pressure on the opponent, and forced the guests to start to make mistakes. They managed to create chances and took advantage of them for one hundred percent, ”the Sport 24 quotes the footballer.

In addition, an Icelander who joined the ranks of red and blue last summer, said that the adaptation period in the Russian championship was successful for him.

“When you come to a club like CSKA, where there is a real family, addiction is much easier. Here you are all supported, ranging from teammates to the club staff. Therefore, my adaptation was absolutely easy, here everyone accepted me. It turned out to be very easy for me to join the team and show my best qualities, because CSKA is a great club and a big family. It is very easy to progress here, ”said Sigurdsson on the TV channel“ Match Premier ”.

“The biggest rival for us today was Zenit itself

In the camp of "Zenith" polar mood reigned. The RPL leaders left the VEB Arena not in the best mood, but tried not to lose heart.

So, the captain of the blue-white-blue Branislav Ivanovich stated that Zenit itself became the main competitor of Zenit at the VEB Arena.

“This year there are many teams of the same level in the RPL. CSKA always claims places at the top of the standings, and in addition to the army team, three or four teams will fight for the championship until the last round. Who is the hardest to play with? The biggest rival for us today was Zenit itself. After mistakes in the first half, it was already difficult to return to the game, ”the Serb said.

According to Ivanovich, the functional state of the team could also be affected by fatigue. After leaving for Bordeaux for the Europa League match, Zenit received only two days to prepare for the meeting with CSKA.

“Maybe Zenit didn’t have enough time to recover from the flight, but we cannot change this situation. Everybody goes through this, and we have to work on and stay strong. Now the break will begin, we will rest, we have the opportunity to improve the game and in many respects add. When we return to our level, we will dominate again, ”the captain of the guests added.

However, the opinion of Ivanovich was not divided by the Zenit striker Anton Zabolotny. According to the forward, the team lost due to a series of tactical mistakes.

“Our fatigue does not affect the game. You just have to do a little work on the bugs and show another game from the next match. Not only we are in European competition, everyone is tired. You can, of course, refer to fatigue, but you do not want to do this. You just need to strive to win victories in the next matches, ”- said the striker on the air of the TV channel“ Match Premier ”.

Zabolotny also commented on his own actions on the field, declaring them unsatisfactory.

“My personal task is to score. It is most important. The goal was to level the score, how to put pressure on the defenders as much as possible and stabilize the position. We leveled out the game more or less, but we could not score. Therefore, I did not fulfill my task. We will do work on the bugs and in the next match we will be rehabilitated, ”Zabolotny quoted the Championship.