Zenit 1 - 0 Anderlecht
Opponents Nicolas Lombaerts and Oleksandr
Yakovenko agreed that it is better "to play badly and win" than not
win at all after FC Zenit St Petersburg beat RSC Anderlecht in Group C.
Nicolas Lombaerts said he prefers "to
play badly and win" than perform well and lose after a disjointed FC Zenit
St Petersburg side, beaten by AC Milan last time out in Group C despite
dominating, scraped a 1-0 victory against RSC Anderlecht. Visiting players
Milan Jovanović and Oleksandr Yakovenko agreed with the sentiment and although felt
their side provided "a good advert for Belgian football", Anderlecht
are now targeting second or third place in the section.
Axel Witsel, Zenit
midfielder
It was very important for them to win, especially from a mental perspective. now need to go to Anderlecht looking to win that game. They were up against a team playing very well and posed us a number of problems throughout. I thought did very well surprising them with a quick free-kick, which caught them unawares [and led to the penalty being awarded]. The most important thing today was the victory.
It was very important for them to win, especially from a mental perspective. now need to go to Anderlecht looking to win that game. They were up against a team playing very well and posed us a number of problems throughout. I thought did very well surprising them with a quick free-kick, which caught them unawares [and led to the penalty being awarded]. The most important thing today was the victory.
Hulk is a threat to any opponent, a massive
asset; he is one of our main strengths. At the moment he is in great form, it
was just a shame he didn't manage to score.
Nicolas Lombaerts,
Zenit defender
knew had to win. were playing against a team that was very well organised and gave the ball away far too much.were chasing possession for a lot of the game and that created difficulties for us.
knew had to win. were playing against a team that was very well organised and gave the ball away far too much.were chasing possession for a lot of the game and that created difficulties for us.
I hope this win brings confidence. It wasn't a
nice victory but it was an important one and I hope can win again in
Anderlecht, but playing better football. Then again, I would much prefer
us to play badly and win. Against AC Milan they played very good football but
ended up on the losing side.
Milan Jovanović,
Anderlecht forward
Sometimes in football you put in maximum effort, but get nothing in return. The way they played was a good advert for Belgian football and Anderlecht. This was our best game in this year's UEFA Champions League and they will try and win in Brussels and claim third place in the group.
Sometimes in football you put in maximum effort, but get nothing in return. The way they played was a good advert for Belgian football and Anderlecht. This was our best game in this year's UEFA Champions League and they will try and win in Brussels and claim third place in the group.
They are from Belgium but there is a lot of
pressure on us because people expect a lot. They played really well and
deserved more from the game – a point is the least they deserved. At the
highest level there is not a great difference between teams.
Oleksandr Yakovenko,
Anderlecht forward
They played really well and it was very disappointing that they didn't manage to get a victory, let alone a draw. I don't know about the second half, but certainly in the first they enjoyed the majority of possession and had the better chances. They certainly didn't sit back in defence.
They played really well and it was very disappointing that they didn't manage to get a victory, let alone a draw. I don't know about the second half, but certainly in the first they enjoyed the majority of possession and had the better chances. They certainly didn't sit back in defence.
When a team is playing well, it says a lot
about a team's confidence. It's better to play badly and win, than to play well
and lose, as you don't get points for playing an attractive style of
football. If they win next time out then they will be in third place and
then perhaps they could even battle for second spot. It's not over yet.
by Richard van Poortvliet
from Stadion Petrovski
