Viktor Hancharenka: The team should be given credit for fighting to the end

— The team looked pretty good in the first minutes and the first half. We scored the first goal, there were prerequisites to play more actively and score the second goal. But simple losses in the opponent's half of the field and in the center did not allow us to increase the pressure after we took the lead.

Football is based on mistakes. Our players were positioned incorrectly, did not run into the penalty area — and it is already 1-1 with a good first half. They took 15 minutes to recover after sending off. Then, through substitutions, we tried to pick up the ball and attack. They were generally successful, but I still did not like the defense of our right wing, what we did behind Mario's back. Zenit played there quite easily, including the goal-scoring situation.

We fought to the end, tried to change the situation. The team should be given credit for that.

— Why did you put Akhmetov as the last player in the midfield? Did you want to control the game?
— We assess both the defense and the attack. We decided that Oblyakov and Akhmetov will play. At some moments Ilzat did well, at some not so well. But this is not what defensive midfielders should be doing after the second-goal situation.

— How is your emotional state? Do you have the strength for the end of the championship?
— We definitely have the strength. Now a long pause begins. This will allow us to forget the latest results, and we will prepare for the final part of the championship.