Mbark Boussoufa: “We played till the last second, and we were rewarded”

Lokomotiv midfielder Mbark Boussoufa has commented on the 1:0 win over Ural and noted Alexey Miranchuk’s performance.

- Mbark, how do you manage to cover the width of entire field?
- I feel I’m getting fit from game to game, and I feel stronger. In the first half we scored a spectacular and an important goal but the referee cancelled it due to an offside, although I personally think there was no such foul. Ural were good at defending their area, so we had some problems with getting through. But we played till the last second, and we were rewarded. I feel happy we got these three points.

- How do you decide between yourself and Samedov who is going to take a free kick?
- There’s no problem here. It depends on a certain episode. Sam’s a great master, and I’m trying to be one too. I want to say that among my team-mates there’re a lot of players who are good at heading. Just see how many high balls we won today, compared to Ural. Our team is strong and balanced.

- How did you like playing with Alexey Miranchuk?
- He’s mega! He’s improving really fast, just watch him at a training. He needs more playing time but it’s obvious he’s a great talent. If he’s going to work as hard as he’s doing now, he’s going to be a star. It was the first time that we both started, and he was really good.

- Why do you often prefer to pass instead of making an attempt?
- Yes, that’s a correct observation. I’m here to make passes. Of course sometimes you have to have a go yourself but I’m not egoistic on the pitch, and I’ll surely pass to a teammate who’s in a better position.

- Terek are not going to sit back. Will the coming fixture be easier?
- It will be a hard game, they have a great team. We beat them in the first leg, but they were okay. Alas, I won’t be able to help my team due to an excess of yellow cards but I know the guys are going to do everything possible to win the game.