Mircea Lucescu: "I'm unhappy with today's result"
The blue-white-sky blue boss spoke about the game with AZ Alkmaar, Yusupov, and the team's future in the UEFA Europa League.
They know how to play, they even played almost a second-team, but this didn't affect them, because the whole team knows what they need to do on the field. Since you ask, the players who took to the field have been together for 3-4 years, everyone knows how and when to go forward, when to slow down, how to create a numerical advantage on the wings. They are young players, they have the desire, they are hungry and they always want to achieve a good result. Hopefully, Zenit will move in the same direction soon.
I'm unhappy with today's result. I'm not happy that we relaxed. the players are in a relaxed mood and played like they were almost on vacation. We lost almost all the battles in the middle of the field and their attacks developed because of this. In the second-half we came out with a different mindset. It was obvious that everyone wanted to get even, we created a lot of chances. Unfortunately, all our passing out wide did not reach its destination. A lot of things needed to be sorted out and we should observe the basics of the game. If Lombaerts just knocks the ball out of bounds there would be no quick attacks and our opponents wouldn't have scored those incredible goals against us. There was a lack of concentration from us and our misinterpretation of moments lead to such things. This is one example, I do not blame anyone. There were good moments, but nothing more.
Yusupov has played some part in the last two matches. How do you evaluate his game?
I like him, at the beginning of the championship he played but then he got injured. To answer your question specifically, I liked him, he played quickly and accelerated the game, he's helped and has been useful in the final stages of the game. I probably made a mistake and should have got him on the pitch a little earlier.
What are you looking for from the draw?
I've never been interested in what the opponent we will get. All games are difficult, they all want to go further and all will fight for life and death. There will be two months before this game, a lot can happen and should happen before then.
What positions do you want to strengthen in?
There are many positions that need to be strengthened. Let us not forget that when I joined the team, its average age was 29 years. Mak, Giuliano and Novoseltsev have slightly lowered this age, but it is still high. We need, of course, new players to rise to the level required of Zenit and the city and our leadership. Life is such a thing - the years go by and they do not make us younger. In this age it is more difficult to recover - ankle, knee, groin and so on.