Zaur Khapov press-conference after the win against Nizhniy

Zaur Chapov: There was a Better Game Today.

Press-conference of FC Lokomotiv’s Head Coach Zaur Chapov after the defeating FC Nizhny Novgorod (2:1).

— Thanks to our team. Today they played well and organized until the sent-off. Almost nothing was given to the opponents. I want to congratulate everyone. I want to congratulate our club. As for the game, I repeat: before the red card we have the real football. After the sent-off we calmed down a bit, we began to lose control. And at that exact moment the result of the game could be unpredictable.

— Are you satisfied with your line of defence? Describe it and its actions.
— We have already conceded the second goal from the set piece. I will put it again: we do not have much of a choice, but we are very pleased that Stanislav Magkeev, Anton Miranchuk, François Kamano set really well. They help us a lot. As for the defence, FC Nizhny Novgorod had several approaches, but Guilherme played well in these moments. And so, we seemed to have the advantage. And we had to finish what we started. We needed to score the third goal. We began to rush, and lost control a little bit. But today was a good game.

— Concerning Maxim Petrov and his current position of the central striker: what was the reason of this decision?
— As you know, Jan Kuchta missed this game due to his suspension. We held two training sessions with Maxim, and then we decided to put him in this lineup. An we put him in front.

— You've mentioned Magkeev and Miranchuk. I want to know when they will be on the field. Is there a decision about them?
— They already have three or four training sessions with the group. We want to have a two-sided game before the game with FC Zenit. We want them to feel the game. Perhaps they will be ready to play with FC Krasnodar, and not with FC Zenit.

— Why did you replace Tin Jedvaj?
— He was damaged a little bit. He slightly stretched his hip and we decided to take all precautions. The situation may not be as bad, but we replaced him. And I hope next time, he will return to the lineup.