Witsel says matches against Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar will help Zenit next season – Football news
Zenit St. Petersburg midfielder, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Axel-Witsel-c7029, believes that the idea of a joint championship is absolutely brilliant and said that the matches against Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk will help Zenit prepare for the upcoming season.
“It was not an easy game for us because we do not have enough match practice as compared to Shakhtar, who have been training for weeks. We lost but I think it was a good performance by both teams. We played well but again the problem was only due to our physical condition. I think we will get in better shape for the next season if we keep on playing games like this against serious and powerful rivals. I can say that Shakhtar and Dynamo are two very strong clubs and for us every meeting with them will be useful,” the Belgian International was quoted as saying.
The St. Petersburg club, Spartak Moscow, Rubin Kazan and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/FC-Rostov-c39192 are actively participating in 2013 united tournament which include Ukrainian Premier League and Russian Premier League club respectively.
In the latest round of the joint championship, Zenit suffered a pulsating 0-1 defeat against Shakhtar at Kyiv stadium on Thursday. The visitors failed to dictate the game after losing http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Milan-Rodic-c25830 in the 39th minute of the game.
The Serbian left back was sent off after picking up his second yellow card in the first half of the much anticipated match. However, the St. Petersburg club restricted Miners to score more than one goal despite the numerical advantage. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Luciano-c22574 Spalletti’s men will now play Dynamo Kyiv on Sunday.
Witsel, who scored four goals in 19 league appearances for the Russian outfit after joining them from http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/SL-Benfica-c40542 for reportedly 40 million Euros last winter, urged his side to win the Russian Super Cup against CSKA Moscow after losing out in the race to win league title last season.
CSKA leapfrogged the St. Petersburg club on the league table and claimed their fourth league title ever since the inception of the Premier League. Zenit now have a chance to steal one trophy under their noses should they win the cup tie at Rostov-on-don next month.
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