Yuriy Syomin: Both teams played well

Lokomotiv head coach Yuriy Syomin analyzes the game against Spartak (1:1) in Gameweek 20 of the Russian Premier League.

- The game was a great entertainment for the fans who packed the stadium today. I think both teams played well, and both could win. Of course, we made a bad mistake in the episode with the goal. Besides, some unexpected injuries inflenced the run of play. Corluka had to be substituted for this reason, and we had to reconsider our tactics. Kverkvelia had to fill in and did so first time. Denisov played half-injured. Kolomeytsev picked up an injury at a practice. We had to adapt to all these losses.

- What's with Corluka?

- I think it's a sprain.

- Did you take a risk by fielding Tarasov?

- I did but Dmitriy has the strong sides we needed in this game. He plays well in defensive midfield.

- What's your take of Ignatyev's performance?

- Vlad demonstrated outstanding performance. Why did I prefer him to Yanbaev? I wasn't happy with Renat in the game against Krasnodar. Same with Pejcinovic who started as a sub.

- Did you like Maicon today?

- After he had entered the game we managed to organize several rapid offensives. Maicon always adds speed. My idea was that he would create danger behind Yeshchenko who constantly ran forward to support attack. I wanted to field Maicon earlier but had to look back at the injured players.

- Why were you so emotional in the episode when Tarasov was being subbed off?

- Seconds earlier Denisov got injured. I shouted the referee to wait, and had to call off the substitution.