"I hope Kislyak stays at CSKA"

After six rounds, CSKA's players are in second place in the Russian championship, just one point behind the first. The Army team won four matches and drew twice. And before that, they won the Russian Super Cup over the reigning national champion Krasnodar (1-0). This happened after an emergency change of head coach in June, when Swiss Fabio Celestini took over the red and blue team, replacing Serbian Marko Nikolic. For reasons not fully understood, he decided to terminate his contract with the red-blues and went to the Greek AEK.

In an interview with Izvestia, CSKA defender Milan Gajic told how his game has changed under Celestini, appreciated the team's start to the season, and also explained the progress of the club's young players and told how it feels to play against the star Russian striker Artyom Dzyuba, who scored against the Army in the last round as part of Tolyatti Akron.

— How would you rate the start of CSKA in the current championship?

"It's okay. Of course, you can always do better, but overall we are happy with how we conducted the first six rounds. In the last match, we won 3-1 against Akron, scored three points and moved up the table. So far, everything is going great.

— You are now in second place, just one point behind the leading Krasnodar. Can we talk about fighting for the championship?

— Of course, we want it. CSKA always has the biggest goals in all tournaments. But we still need to improve. Yes, we started the season well. We have won the Russian Super Cup, we are among the leaders in the championship, we have not lost a single match in the RPL. But there's still room to grow. Moreover, we had a short preseason — training camps under the new head coach did not last long. Therefore, you can still get in shape during the season and act even better than you are now.

— In the match against Akron, CSKA conceded the only goal from Artem Dzyuba. How does it feel to play against him? Is this your most difficult offensive opponent in three years of playing in the RPL?

— One of the most difficult ones, that's for sure. It's always unpleasant to play against him. You can say that he plays his football, and Akron plays for him — a lot of long passes, and Dzyuba is good not only at riding, but also at rebounds and rebounds. Of course, we have been preparing for this, and I think we have managed to cope with it. Although I don't know how many long passes into the box there were in the first half — probably 50 (smiles). Of course, it was impossible for us to win the whole riding fight, and in one episode he was able to score against us. But, it seems to me, there were no sharp moments at our gates from Dzyuba's discounts. Overall, we played well, controlled the ball and scored three points — that was our main goal. We were determined only to win.

— How to fight Dzyuba?

— Play tightly with and around him. It seems to me that the most difficult thing in defense is for someone who plays with Dzyuba and fights with him. But the rest of our players had to act very carefully, not to allow someone from Akron to take the ball after his rebates and hit our goal from a comfortable position. Playing against such a striker, you have to be 100% focused throughout the match.

— What do you associate with the progress of CSKA's young players Matvey Kislyak, Kirill Glebov and Matvey Lukin over the past year?

— They get a lot of game practice. Due to this, they manage to progress so much. It is clear that they are well used on the field. In some situations, we act at the expense of speed, a lot of throwing the ball behind the opponent's back. But sometimes, when there is an opportunity, we play the ball in attack. With this kind of football, young guys show their best qualities, especially talented ones like ours. So far, everything is going according to plan, but we still need to improve.

— All this summer, there have been periodic rumors about the interest in Kislyak from Turkey. In your opinion, is he ready to play in Europe right now?

— I do not know (smiles). Whether he's ready is not my question, but I hope he stays at CSKA.

— How has your game changed personally after the unexpected change of head coach in June?

— We play a little more attacking football now. I have a lot of connections to the attack, running around. That's why we score more.