Vyacheslav Malafeev: "Zenit played fast"

Our team`s captain in the match with AEK, the blue-white-light blue`s goalkeeper, shared his impressions from the match.

– I ran out on inertia and ran right into their player. I hit him myself, – Malafeev started from the episode with AEK`s penalty kick in the last minutes of the match. – I wouldn`t have hurt myself on purpose.

– What decision were you expecting from the referee?

– I was expecting absolutely any decision. It was up to the referee to decide. The player was trying to earn a penalty on purpose. He could have run around me. In the end he managed to get off a shot, and there was nowhere for me to go, and I ran into him. But he didn`t get the ball anywhere near the goal! We collided, and the referee decided that it was a penalty kick. That happens.

– What`s your impression of AEK?

– I wouldn`t say that they looked to good. Zenit played really fast in the first half of the match. And all of the chances that we made at their end turned into goals. Maybe we got lucky in a couple situations. But everything happens thanks to luck in football. Maybe for someone it wasn`t too interesting to watch the match. When we had the result in the bag we tried to control the ball and use less energy.

– How difficult will it be to play in Nalchik?

– It won`t be easy. We have a serious rotation in the team. Those players who played the whole last match might be left on the bench, and the guys who haven`t played in a long time might get on the field. We made substitutions in the second half of the match. I think our coach was keeping these thoughts in mind. I think we was preparing for both matches, not just one.

– Will it be hard to play in Greece in December?

– I don`t know, it`s a long way to the return leg. We have a lot of games before then. We have to get ready for them first.