“During the penalty shootout, it was starting to get dark in my eyes” – Yakupova, Zenit player

Zenith footballer Lina Yakupova after beating CSKA Moscow in the Super Bowl, she said during the penalty shootout her eyes darkened with excitement.

On Saturday, the players of the St. Petersburg “Zenith” defeated CSKA Moscow in the match for the Winline Russian Super Cup. The main time of the match, which took place at the VEB Arena in Moscow, ended with the score 1:1. As part of Zenit, Ekaterina Pantyukhina scored a goal (71 minutes), Ekaterina Bratko (79 minutes) scored against CSKA. After the final whistle, according to the regulations, a penalty shootout was decided, where the women of St. Petersburg turned out to be more accurate – 5:4.

– We were sorting out CSKA, we were preparing for one, but the opponent changed their game a bit. So in the first half we didn’t go through what we were preparing. During the break, the technical staff made adjustments, we started to play differently, and it paid off.

– For many, it was a surprise that Zenit played it safe. The ball didn’t reach your striker Ana Dias, who seemed nervous about it.

“Maybe she was worried. It’s hard to play without the ball. Maybe it was the excitement and the emotions. Once again, great arena! It’s very cool to play in such stadiums, but we probably haven’t gotten used to such hype yet, so emotions boiled over, he enslaved. Besides, the Super Bowl is a game. Everything is decided there – either you are a champion or no one. We also had two unsuccessful Russian Cup finals. Maybe it was too much pressure.

— How did you play with the active support of the stands?

– When you hear that you are being pushed forward, it is very energizing and motivating. Every moment of play you have even more adrenaline. It’s very cool! I want as many supporters as possible to come to each match, it’s nice.

Before that, we had an away match against CSKA, to which many active fans also came. We walked out and felt like home.

– Zenit started the penalty shootout with a miss. What happened then in the team?

– It’s okay, everything happens. Penalties are a lottery. Sometimes you don’t understand. Well, what to do? We all supported Gaby. Moreover, Yulia Grichenko assisted in the next moment, so they remained on an equal footing. Penalties are so valid, especially in women’s football. It was very exciting, even in the eyes, it was dark when they hit the goal.

– Zenit has all the trophies of the country, except for the Russian Cup. Further on the plan to take the missing title?

“I don’t want to get ahead of myself. We have the next game against Rubin on the road, we will prepare. We also want to win the Russian championship, so we are not going to celebrate and relax. Today we rejoiced, rested for a day and prepared more.

Last year we celebrated a little early and probably didn’t have enough emotions for the Russian Cup final. Therefore, we are focused, our task is to win every game,” Yakupova told .

Zenit won the Super Cup for the first time in its history, disputed for the third time. The previous two times the trophy was won by Lokomotiv Moscow.

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