Maksim Demenko has expressed his views on Zenit St. Petersburg’s chances to win the remaining group stage matches in the UEFA Champions League without Igor Denisov
Former Zenit St. Petersburg and Spartak Moscow defender, Maxim Demenko, has insisted that the defending Russian Premier League champions will progress from the group stages of the UEFA Champions League tournament despite the absence
of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Igor-Denisov-c16694.
Denisov, who has not played in any competitive game at the club level after making a controversial decision not to take part in a league match against Krylia Sovetov Samara at Metallurg stadium, was penalized to train with the
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/U-17-Youth-team-c40787 prior to the World Cup qualifiers.
It was largely expected that the 28-year-old central midfielder will return to the St. Petersburg club after playing a massive part in the Russian national team’s back-to-back wins against Portugal and Azerbaijan respectively.
However, Denisov has not yet reached the base camp after the International duty and reports in Russian media suggest that the Russian national is looking to terminate his current contract after seeking interest from a host of top
European clubs.
And while many football pundits have suggested http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Axel-Witsel-c7029 to fill the void left with Denisov, Demenko believes that the Belgian International cannot make an instant impact after joining the Russian outfit this summer.
“One player’s absence does not seem to influence the result at any particular football field. Zenit have lost a good player for now, but at the same time, Denisov should have acted wisely in this situation.”
“Nevertheless Igor is a kind of a player who cements the central zone. Witsel is also a good player but you can see that he is more attacking footballer who does not go back often to defend.” The Ukrainian Premier League winner
was quoted as saying.
Demenko insisted that the defending champions failed to demonstrate proper football in their last game against Kuban Krasnodar despite winning the respective league tie 1-0 at Petrovsky stadium.
Commenting on Zenit’s upcoming match against Anderlecht, Demenko revealed that the St. Petersburg club have no room for error if they are to reach the later stages of the Champions League.
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