“Why was I so excited? I just didn’t want to lose.” Frank Radulov after beating the champion

– Why did you freak out so much in this match? They beat the board with a club …

“I just didn’t want to lose. We played badly in the first match against Dynamo. And all. There was a meeting yesterday. We understood very well that CSKA is a solid team, the defending champion. On the road, they have won two games. And we started the season unsuccessfully, we ourselves are responsible for that.

– When you were moved to three more, removing Shipachev and Kagarlitsky from the link, what did it change?

— Yes, nothing has changed. In principle, we work normally, it’s just that somewhere some moments do not work. We have to find a way out. The trainers did well. If it helped the team win, that’s the most important thing.

– It seemed that the blow of Sergei Plotnikov, with which you were knocked down, made you very angry.

— No, it was perfectly normal hockey. I saw him walking towards me, I had no other choice. I had to take his shot, keeping the puck… There, the puck went slowly, along the boards. I saw that Plotnikov was walking towards me. It’s a good shot, no doubt. And no offense.

– Is it a special moment for you that you scored against CSKA?

– Yes, I always said it was good to score. Whoever you ask for sure. But today the victory was important for us in the first place. I repeat that we did not play very well against Dynamo. Bad is an understatement. Everyone understood it very well.

The guys wanted to give themselves a chance to win today, fought hard, played well in defence. And I think that’s the key to success.

– Is there a difference – to win 2:1 or 5:1? Certainly more certainty in the second case.

“As I said, it’s good to score. The main thing is to win. At this stage, it’s important for us to score points, to feel the taste of victory, and that’s good. when you beat such an opponent on the road.

– You have a home game ahead of you. Will this complete away streak cheer you up?

It’s always nice to play at home. We want to come back to Kazan, always happy to play in front of our fans. I think there will be people. For a long time there were no official matches in Kazan. We can’t wait to return to our native walls to please the fans.

– Were you surprised that few spectators came to this match in Moscow?

– Listen, Monday night – a lot of people are working. So everything is clear.

– Doesn’t it bother you that Vadim Shipachyov has zero points in two matches so far? He is the top scorer in the league.

– It doesn’t matter at all! I tell you that everything will go through work. All those nice pucks, those nice pranks only happen after everyone works for the team, doing little things. They take the puck out, somewhere they catch it on themselves, they win face-offs, a one-on-one fight.

Say what you want, but hockey is about five guys on different sides of the field chasing a puck. Who will win more martial arts, he will win.

– In fact, you lost the first game with a score of 0:1.

– What 0:1? There was 0:2.

– But the second puck in an empty net. I mean, a lot of hate immediately hit Ak Bars. Were you ready for this? Are you disconnected from the press and the Internet?

– Yes, we are tired of what the coaches say. Again, we had a pretty serious meeting. Everyone understands everything. We went out – and everyone saw that we were fighting.

And CSKA played well. They did not give up, they added in the third period. But we resisted, endured, used our moments. And hockey is such a game: today you win, tomorrow you can lose.

Here you have to forget the bad times and try to learn from them so that it does not happen again in the future.

KHL. Regular season

CSKA (Moscow) – Ak Bars (Kazan) – 1:5 (1:1, 0:1, 0:3)

Goals: Abramov, 15:24 (bol.). – Safonov, 6:32 p.m. Panyukov, 22:38. Radulov, 48:21. Tarasov, 59:25. Dinjak, 59:39.