Dynamo head coach Marcel Licka answered journalists' questions after the match against Rubin (1:0).
— I said before the match that I would be glad if we beat Rubin by 1:0, because it would be a golden victory for us. The opponent is very strong. They are a well-disciplined team which runs forward quickly. In addition, Daku saves almost all the balls in attack. It was very difficult to face them, and it's good that we scored first. Rubin have won five of the previous six games and drawn one time without conceding any goal. Of course, I would have liked a 4:0 win, but facing such a strong opponent, the 1:0 score is even more pleasant. Maybe the game couldn't be named spectacular, but the guys did a good job and earned three points.
— In the second half, Dynamo played on counterattacks, and with such a play there is always a risk of making a mistake. Was this your plan, or it was like that due to the pitch features?
— It was difficult for us in the second half. We often played backwards and I was unsatisfied with it. Their defensive line started playing high and we got a chance to organize quick counterattacks. We tried to play through a short pass. When Carrascal went forward several times, he lacked the decisive pass. The second half was more of working, running game. Unfortunately, we did not show the qualities that we have.
There were 2-3 good situations in the first half. The opponent played compactly in defense and did not allow us to go forward with the ball. We still don't know how to play so well against a team which defends with 9 persons. Therefore, it is sometimes easier for us to play against CSKA or Zenit, because they leave more free zones.
— Did you make an additional analysis of Yury Dupin's play, who did not concede six consecutive matches?
— We knew that he always tries to play high and waits for long passes from the opponent. That's why I was angry. When you throw the ball like that a couple of times, the goalkeeper will intercept them, but when you do it 10 times, he will definitely make mistakes 1-2 times and will not go out. And we didn't use it. There were episodes when Rubin came to our half of the pitch in full squad, and their half was free. And in such cases, we often gave the ball back to the goalkeeper, who would not knock it out 70 meters in such a cold. That's why I told Foma, Luis and Skopa to look ahead and throw the ball at Moumi and Smol. Unfortunately, we started doing this only by the end of the game.
— How serious is Diego Laxalt's injury?
— I can't say yet, but I think he won't play against Fakel. He felt pain in his calf muscle. If there is injury, then it is 8-10 days of recovery.
— You began to field Fedor Smolov as a substitute regularly. Today he strengthened the play in the second half. Can we say that he has already accepted his new role?
— When we play 4-3-3, Fedya and Tyuka compete with each other for a spot in the starting line-up. Now Tyuka scores and plays very well. I am very happy to have two such strikers in my team. I can calmly replace Tyuka in the 60th minute and know that Fedya will come out and do his job well. It's clear that everyone wants to play, but I can only put eleven footballers on the pitch. Fedya is a star of Russian football, but at the same time his behavior is very correct that is nice for me.