Daniil Lesovoy: It’s hard to play against Sochi in the RPL

— Daniil, 10 months later, you are back in the Dynamo starting lineup. Did you have a special feeling when you learnt about your spot in the starting eleven?

— Honestly speaking, even before the pre-match meeting, I thought that I could start against Loko. I was morally ready to hear my name. When it was confirmed, all thoughts were only about the game. In any case, I will remember this day for a long time.

— You spent almost 90 minutes on the pitch. Was it physically difficult after such a long pause?

— I felt good in the first half. There was no such feeling that I was tired, breathed heavily or I had jelly legs. But in the second half, somewhere around the 75th minute, I felt that I hadn’t played a full match for a long time.

— You made an assist for a penalty in the game against Loko and you were close to score yourself, hitting the crossbar. Are you satisfied with your play?

— I would put myself a four. But if I have to answer your question directly, then I am satisfied, in general (smiles).

— Did the Sandro Schwarz’ absence affect the team?

— Of course, it would be better if he was with the team and controlled the game from the sideline. But Volkan (Bulut) is also a good fellow. He constantly encouraged us and prompted. In any case, we missed Sandro. Somewhere we even tried to play for him.

— What happened in the second half when you ran up to the bench and put the spikes on?

— For some reason, there is a kind of problem on this model of boots, in which I am currently training and playing. The spikes often have to be put on. And then this happened during the match. We have a good administrator inside the team – I ran up to the bench and Gennady Samodurov together with our masseur Sergey Putilin helped me quickly with my boots.

— Last season you were also the protagonist of the club program and then scored an amazing goal. Is this one of the beauties in your career?

— I would call it one of the most fortunate (smiles). Objectively speaking, I was in the right place at the right time in that episode. I struck, and it so happened that the ball went through three players. But this is definitely not one of my nicest goals.

— Are Sochi a hard opponent for your team style?

— I wouldn't say. We won two games at Sochi under Sandro Schwarz, and lost one. In principle, Sochi are not an easy team. They have their own style. It’s hard to play against them in the RPL.

— Another event of this week is linked with Arsenal Tula, from which you moved to Dynamo Moscow. The Tula side was relegated from the Premier League. Is it sad news?

— Yes, very sad. I've been following them all the time. When the situation got worse for the team, I tried not to miss any of their matches, read the news and supported them. It's not a regular team for me. I have a lot of friends there. It's a pity.

— Is it true that the Tula team was motivated in a special way for Dynamo? Were there increased bonuses for such matches?

— Increased bonuses at Arsenal existed for defeating any team from the top 5. Dynamo did not stand out separately in this regard (smiles).

— So the Arsenal sporting director Guram Adzhoyev didn't you come before the matches and say that Dynamo should definitely be beaten?

— No, I have never seen such a thing. Yes, there were employees at the club who had worked at Dynamo. The same goes to several football players. But there was no additional stimulation for the matches against the White-Blues.