[h=4]Zenit head coach André Villas-Boas explained at his post-match press conference after defeating Volga why Danny took Zenit`s penalty kick, tallied the results of the match, and noted that when a team has greater possession, it`s easier to keep a clean sheet.[/h]
— This was a difficult match because we wanted to play at a really high level, and to demonstrate authentic Zenit football. Even though we dominated all match long, it was hard to score the second goal. If we had scored a second goal in the first half, then it would have been a lot easier to play, and show our best qualities. But I`m satisfied, because Zenit won and played well.
— Do your players practice penalty kicks at trainings? Was the Kerzhakov-Rondon duo something you purposely practice in training, or just an improvisation?
— We train penalties every week. Usually we spend ten minutes taking penalties at the last pre-game training. Five people took penalties this week: Danny, Rondon, Witsel, Tymoshchuk, and Ansaldi. Danny scored on all five of his kicks, and therefore we appointed him to take penalties today. Of course, it happens that a player can make a mistake - it's possible, and there`s no point criticizing him. Unfortunately, it happened, but it didn`t affect the outcome of the match. As for the second question, we practice a 4-4-2 formation in training, and we`ll use it if necessary. We used it today, and perhaps we will continue to use it in the future.
— Your team was much better in attack today, but the team`s defense still calls a lot of questions. I suspect you plan to improve it. Can you explain how?
— We can`t say that it`s necessary to train our defense and attack separately. We pay equal attention in training to playing in defense and attack, because it`s an overall issue, and to make a separation, coaching defense and attack separately, doesn`t make sense. It seems to me it`s not correct to talk about failures in our defense today. The team won 2-0 and controlled the ball 89% of the time. Whichever team has the ball more, that team can guarantee itself more that it won`t give up a goal. The better that all lines play, the stronger the team will play in defense as well.
— When you put Zyryanov out, did you plan him to replace Danny, or did you make some change?
— We wanted to replace Witsel, but we saw that Danny felt some muscle pain, so we decided to make the substitution we did, to avoid any risks.
— You used Fayzulin and Tymoshchuk as defensive mids today, giving Witsel more freedom. Will you continue to use Witsel in attack in the future? For example, against Lokomotiv.
— As far as as our starting lineup and tactics for the match vs. Lokomotiv, we have a long week to analyze the match. As for Witsel playing at this position, he played in it in Belgium, so he knows it well. We`ll analyze which lineup is optimal in each upcoming match.
