http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Luciano-c22574 Spalletti has credited Mikhail Biryukov’s efforts
behind Zenit St. Petersburg crucial Russian Cup win and has lamented Luis Neto’s recent injury
Zenit St. Petersburg managed to reach the semi-final of the Russian Cup this time around, having failed to progress in the tournament after suffering a 1-0 defeat against Dynamo Moscow at Petrovsky stadium last year.
The defending Russian Premier League champions progressed from the quarter-final of the cup competition after defeating Kuban Krasnodar on a penalty shoot-out at home on Wednesday.
The Meshki shot-stopper, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Vyacheslav-Malafeev-c36502, earned the man-of-the-match accolade after making remarkable and unbelievable saves during the shoot-out. The 34-year-old denied the opposition three times during the respective cup
fixture.
Luciano Spalletti has credited the goal-keeping coach, Mikhail Biryukov, behind their crucial domestic cup win against the Krasnodar-based club after saying that the goalkeeping coach’s work paid off.
“I think it was a difficult game against a strong opponent. In the second half, "Kuban" acted cool, they used the wingers, but, in general, was an equal game.”
“I really liked the penalty kicks. Kuban had nothing to win this season. So they fought until the end to go through.”
“I think Malafeev played brilliantly today. He is very strong goalkeeper on whom you can rely upon. I understand that this is a position that requires the highest concentration on the pitch.”
“I think we have one of the best goalkeeping coaches in the world.” The former AS http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Roma-c31603 manager man was quoted as saying.
Spalletti went on to lament Luis http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Aleksandar-Lukovic-c4481, five minutes
after half time.
Neto, who joined the Russian outfit for a reported 10 million Euro transfer fee from Siena this winter, has played nine games in all competition since signing a two-year contract at Petrovsky.
Though Spalletti confirmed that Neto ruptured his leg muscle during the cup tie, the 54-year-old neither revealed the nature of the injury nor provided any time frame of the player’s return to action on the pitch.
Tags: