Syomin: Ufa is a difficult opponent for everyone

After the game against Ufa (1:1) of Gameweek 15 of the Russian Premier League Lokomotiv head coach Yuriy Syomin speaks about yellow cards, injuries and the upcoming fixture against Juventus.

- Would you agree Ufa gave away initiative?

- It does not matter whether they did or not. Ufa is a difficult opponent for everyone, not only Lokomotiv. Their coach is Vadim Yevseyev who tunes them really well. They are very aggressive. I think it was an even game. Conditions determine play.

- The referee booked eight players at Lokomotiv.

- You’d better ask the referee. We committed 16 fouls and were booked eight times. Did we really play that tough? I had an impression the referee was willing to book someone so that he would miss the next game. Play was not tough but the referee kept showing yellow cards.

- Why no substitutions?

- Nobody was dropping out. Plus it was very cold. It would have been difficult for a sub to catch up with play. The game was going well and I did not see the reasons for making substitutions.

- Did Joao Mario not play because of the turf?

- It’s a complex issue. The turf is a given. Nothing to comment on here. I hope Joao will play against Juventus.

- When will we see Smolov and Anton Miranchuk back?

- I hope in December.

- Lokomotiv have not won in three consecutive games. Is the team on the downturn?

- We played against Juventus and Spartak. Before that we had five consecutive wins. Any spree comes to an end.

- How are you planning to prepare for Juventus?

- I am satisfied with the players’ dedication today. They worked in difficult conditions. Nobody was saving himself for Juventus. We gave ourselves away. Now we need to recover. It’s difficult to make predictions on who will play and who will not.