It was a confident win in a difficult match. Akhmat have improved and they had a long winning streak, so most likely they were the team that were expected to win today. Our players finally managed to not only score, but to score a lot of goals, which is something we’ve been lacking in the recent matches. As I’ve already said, there are no wins without goals scored. Today we scored and won. Now we’ll be getting ready for the next game.
If I understand correctly, you’ve crossed paths with Magomed Adiyev at CSKA before. You greeted each other warmly today. Do you still remember each other? What are your memories of him from that period of time?
That’s right, we talk and we’ve always been in contact. Obviously not all the time, but whenever we were crossing paths with each other. I have huge respect for him, and we’ve a great relationship and I’m always happy so see him succeed. We talk on the phone and in real life when possible.
A question regarding Mateo Cassierra that’s impossible not to ask. What is the reason behind today’s success? Was Mateo just great at finishing specific chances, or did he improve his fitness level over the season and everything was leading up to this breakthrough?
No, not everything was leading up to this. The teamwork aspect of the game was leading up to this, despite us being unable to score and losing points. The players are trying their best in every match and usually they have the advantage. We only needed to score more, and today our team practically exploded with goals. We could’ve been scoring enough goals to win the previous matches, but it’s impossible to win without scoring. Today we scored and won. I’m happy for Cassierra and for the team.
Is Mateo going to get the match ball or the shirt signed to keep it as a memory of today’s success?
I’m not sure, but regarding the ball, I think he’s going to take it home. It’s not something that happens often when one player scores so many goals. Even a hat-trick is a great achievement, but when it comes to a bigger amount of goals, it’s a rare case not only for our league, but for football as a whole.
Did you watch Dynamo v Krylia Sovetov yesterday? Or did you just look up the score and then decided that it would be better for the team to focus on their game?
No, we were traveling to Grozny yesterday, so we weren’t watching. Dynamo are doing their job and we’re doing ours. Our objective is to do everything that depends on us. We need that in order to continue competing for the title up until the last round. That’s exactly what we did. We still have hopes and we’re doing our best while we have chances. There’s one more round ahead. We’re getting ready for the upcoming matches, the league game and the Russian Cup Super Final. These two matches are incredibly important.