Luciano Spalletti believes Zenit were tired when playing against SL Benfica after the Russian Premier League tie against CSKA Moscow at Luzhniki stadium.
In the latest round of UEFA Champions League, Zenit St. Petersburg suffered a 2-0 defeat in their return leg against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/SL-Benfica-c40542 at Estádio da Luz, after having won the first leg 3-2 at Petrovsky stadium.
Before the return leg in Lisbon, Zenit had a one goal advantage. However they failed to take advantage and conceded two goals. Benfica took the lead just before half time and they confirmed their place in the quarter-finals of
the continental tournament by doubling their lead late in the game.
In the aftermath of the outcome, Zenit St. Petersburg head coach, Luciano Spalletti, has lamented the situation and urged his team to concentrate on their defensive mistakes. The former Udinese manager, at the same time, admitted
that they did not take their chances well.
While summing up the team’s performance, Spalletti admitted that they were tired after playing a couple of tough fixtures during the same week. The Meshki kick started the Russian Premier League third round against CSKA Moscow,
three days prior to the crunch European encounter on the away turf.
"I think the match against CSKA Moscow which took place on Saturday cost us the defeat. But I will certainly applaud Benfica’s game quality, performance and skills. We need to add in this regard. We failed to display our best qualities
successfully on the pitch.” The Russian Cup winner was quoted as saying.
The Italian tactician went on to defend his team by highlighting injury concerns. Spalletti had to recall Domenico Criscito, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Danko-Lazovic-c10188 from prolonged absences, owing to injuries ravaging the squad.
Spalletti also had to replace http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Aleksandr-Anyukov-c4549 during the second half of the match due to yet another injury.
“As for the physical form, if we would have an extra day of preparation, we could have prevented the defeat. We had a busy schedule ahead of the game which has certainly not helped us.” Spalletti said.
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