Boussoufa won't return to Anderlecht.

Anderlecht Head Coach Besnik Hasi, after defeating Westerlo 3:0 in the Belgian league, spoke about the situation regarding Boussoufa. 

He confirmed to Laatste Nieuws Het that the Moroccan midfielder won't return to Brussels: "Boussoufa won't return to us. I'm disappointed because I need a player of his level. However, we've got many guys that can improve."

Today, instead, Anderlecht's chairman Roger Vanden Stock said: "I've personally taken the decision not to sign Boussoufa."

We remember that also a club from the UAE was interested in Boussoufa. 

The Cherkizovo Report: Lokomotiv 2 Krasnodar 1.

Despite four away wins, Lokomotiv had only managed two points at home leading the media and fans alike to pose the question, 'Why can't Loko win at home?' Today's impressive 2-1 win against a dangerous Krasnodar side hopefully will silence the critics. Recovering from an 0-1 deficit, Loko turned the tables with a poke from Niasse and a nose job from Kasaev.

A nice crowd of 10,000 attended on this cool, end-of-summer day including a small contingent of Krasnodar fans tucked into the normal away fan corner in the north end. Loko named an unchanged lineup from the 3-0 win at Ufa. I didn't quite know what to expect from Krasnodar today as their season has been a mixed bag from drawing Kuban and Mordovia at home to defeating Zenit at Petrovsky. I could only presume that Loko would be fresher due to Krasnodar's Thursday trip to Helsinki to battle HJK in the Europa League and that with two teams that don't mind attacking, it would be an open, back-and-forth game. The competitors didn't disappoint.

The Railwaymen certainly had more of a spring in their step in the opening stages with the best chance coming after N'Dinga weaved his way through the Krasnodar defense and found Niasse who shot wide right. But then in the 11th minute against the run of play, Smolov flew down the left, side-stepped Tarasov, and fired past Guilherme to give the visitors an undeserved lead.

Niasse immediately tried to reply with another effort which sailed wide right, but then succeeded in equalizing seven minutes later with the most bizarre of goals. A long kick from Corluka headed forward by N'Dinga was played-in to Niasse who tried to elude two Krasnodar defenders, tumbled down, rolled over, and from the seat of his pants, swiped the ball which squirted past Dikan and rolled slowly into the the goal.

After that, it seemed to be full steam ahead for the red and white, but the Bulls finally found their footing towards the end of the first half with Granqvist heading over the crossbar and Smolov attempting a second goal from the same spot as the first one, but he luckily didn't fool Guilherme again. Things started to get chippy after that, with four yellow cards shown within nine minutes, two for each team, temporarily breaking the flow of the game.

Halftime was a chance for everyone to catch their breath and N'dinga, who had been one of Loko's best players, was substituted for Mykhalyk due to a hamstring spasm.

Once the second half came, it was time for some Kasaev magic as he was wreaking havoc with his nifty work  down the left side. The moment of the match came when Loko forced the ball into the penalty box. Gazinsky poked it into the air and Tarasov tried to slam it home with a spectacular bicycle kick that hit the post. Loko continued piling the pressure on and Samedov centered it to Niasse who forced a good save from Dikan, but right into the path of Kasaev who headed the ball in as he was getting kicked in the nose!  He went down and it was later revealed that he broke his nose, but he continued in the game.

After taking the lead, Loko had some chances to strike again and close out the game. Samedov had a goal disallowed because of a Niasse foul and his replacement, Maicon, also had a chance to seal it but forced a save from Dikan after being played clear by an errant back pass from the Krasnodar midfield. The best chances at equalizing for the Bulls came on shots from Smolov and Mamaev that sailed over the crossbar and Loko had a few more breakaway chances that were undone by careless passing. But solid defending allowed the Railwaymen to comfortably see out the last few minutes of the match and to pick up their first home win of the season.

The win moved Lokomotiv up to second place with five wins, two draws, and 17 points. It's starting to become clear that our strong start to the season is no fluke. Lokomotiv seemed to be in control of the match from beginning to end and fully deserved the three points today. And with an international break next weekend, we have two weeks to savor this victory!

Andy Tedrick

Igor Cherevchenko: "The match was difficult".

Igor Cherevchenko in the post-game press-conference spoke about the game against Krasnodar (2:1), resuming it. 

- The match was difficult. Although the first goal discouraged us, the guys continued playing fastly and quickly equalized the score. There were many fights. In the second half we scored the second goal and so earned the three points. 

- Why was N'Dinga replaced?

- He had a problem with the knee. We preferred not to risk him. 

- No Lokomotiv's players were called for the Russia National Team.

- This is not a question for me. We have to respect the decision made by the Russia national team head coach. 

- Why do most of the Russian teams play better in the away games?

- I think because many teams are better in the counterattacks.

Lokomotiv - Krasnodar 2:1.

Lokomotiv defeated Krasnodar in the seventh round of the Russian Premier League and got to the second place in the table. 

In the last week in the summer, the main match of the seventh round was taken at Lokomotiv Stadium. After the Zenit and Spartak's defeats, 'Railroaders' could have get to the second place in the table. 

The match started with both teams that preferred to study each other. The first opportunity was for Lokomotiv after five minutes, while Krasnodar waited for the right counterattack. In fact, 11 mins later the kick off, Smolov run away on the wing and with a beautiful shot beat Guilherme - 0:1.

However, Lokomotiv did immediately answer. Seven minutes later, Niasse dribbled two defenders and, despite falling down, he scored the 1:1 thanks to an awful Dykan. 

The first half was also characterized by many yellow cards. The home side had a few chances with Kasaev, Niasse and Samedov, but they weren't accurate. 

In the second half, Lokomotiv tried attacking more and more offensive. As a consequence, Tarasov hit the post and Kasaev scored the 2:1. 

The guests relied again on the counterattacks, but they weren't dangerous. Maicon could have scored many times the third goal, but in the end the game finished 2:1.

Lokomotiv won the first home match of the season!

Russian Premier League. Seventh week

"Lokomotiv" - "Krasnodar" - 2:1 (1:1) 

Goals: Smolov, 11 (0:1). Niasse, 18 (1:1). Kasaev, 58 (2:1) 

"Lokomotiv": Guilherme, Denisov, Corluka, Shishkin, Pejčinović, Tarasov, N'Dinga (Mykhalyk, 46), Kasaev (Yanbaev, 88) Samedov, Kolomeytsev, Niasse (Maicon, 72)

"Krasnodar": Dykan, Petrov, Granqvist, Sigurdsson, Kaleshin, Gazinsky (Akhmedov, 62), Strandberg, Laborde (Bystrov, 46), Smolov, Mamaev, Ari (Wanderson, 68) 

Yellow cards: Laborde, 21. Tarasov, 30. Corluka, 33. Gazinsky, 34. Strandberg, 39 

Referee: Sergey Ivanov (Rostov-on-Don) 

30 August. Moscow. Lokomotiv Stadium

Preview Lokomotiv - Krasnodar.

  

Локомотив // Краснодар 

Sunday, August 30th 2015

(Lokomotiv Stadium, Moscow)

12:30 Lokomotiv Moscow - FK Krasnodar

Referee: Sergey Ivanov (Rostov-on-Don).

Assistants: Dmitrij Bereznev (Rostov-on-Don) and Roman Usachyov (Rostov-on-Don).

Sub assistants: ? (?) and ? (?).
Delegate: Boris Larin (Moscow).
Inspector: Nikolay Levnikov (Saint Petersburg).

Precedents

2011

Krasnodar - Lokomotiv 1-4: 83' Shipitsin; 7' Shishkin, 44' Ibricic (rig.); 50' Ignatjev, 75' Sychyov.
Lokomotiv - Krasnodar 1-0: 34' Glushakov. 

2012
Krasnodar - Lokomotiv 3-1: 19' Caicedo; 46' Pavlyuchenko (own goal), 58' Joazinho (rig.), 80' Movsisyan.
Lokomotiv - Krasnodar 3-2: 3' N'Doye, 20' N'Doye, 50' Obinna; 9' Shipitsin, 48' Wanderson.

2013
Lokomotiv - Krasnodar 3-1: 41' V. Denisov, 59' Joazinho (rig.), 83' N'Doye, 88' Durica.
2014
Krasnodar - Lokomotiv 1-3: 6' Al. Miranchuk, 45' Joazinho, 90'+2 Samedov, 90'+5 Samedov.
Lokomotiv - Krasnodar 0-0
2015
Krasnodar - Lokomotiv 1-0: 37' Pereyra (pen.).

Lokomotiv:

Absents: Durica (injured), Sheshukov (injured).

In doubt: Boussoufa.

Rankings:

Lokomotiv: 3.
FK Krasnodar: 6.

Streaming (available half an hour before the start of the match):
HERE.
-NTV Nash Futbol. Commentators: Vasilij Utkin.

Curiosities:

//.
___________________________________________________________________

Lokomotiv want to continue dreaming about the title. Why do I say this? Today Zenit was defeated in Saint Petersburg against a brilliant Krylja, while Spartak lost a home match v Anzhi. As a consequence, tomorrow 'Railroaders' have got a greedy opportunity vs Krasnodar to overcome the 'Bomzhi' and to slip the white-reds. 

However, it won't be an easy game. Krasnodar are one of the strongest teams in RPL and two weeks ago they defeated Zenit at Petrovskij Stadium. Furthermore, they reached the Europa League group stage, eliminating Finnish side HJK. In the last round, despite drawing 0:0 vs Mordoviya, they played a good football and merited to win. This was caused by the European competition, that took out power and freshness. 

In this transfers window, the 'Bulls' couldn't have spent too much money to sign players in order to respect the FFP terms. However, a good jolly like the Norwegian Strandberg arrived in Krasnodar together with Kaborè, who was close to join Lokomotiv. The 'Bulls' signed also our former midfielder Dmitrij Torbinskij and Fyodor Smolov from Dinamo. 

Kononov should opt for a ordinary 4-3-3 with Gazinskij, Akhmetov and Mamaev in the midfield. In particular, we think that the Uzbek player is the favorite instead of Strandberg. Smolov has been having a very good season so far, so the Belorussian coach should confirm him in the three attacking players. Then, we choose Wanderson, who is more in form than Ari, and Bystrov, who was one of the protagonists of the victory in Saint Petersburg. Laborde should start on the bench, while Pereyra has got a small injury.

Cherevchenko, instead, should confirm the same starting line-up that defeated Ufa. There is only one ballot between Miranchuk and Kolomeytsev, but we prefer the latter as he made two assists at Neftyanik Stadium. Lokomotiv want to win the first home match of the season before the break of the national teams, so it'll be important not to disappoint the fans.

Former Lokomotiv defender Yurij Drozdov (1993-2003) said: "Three days are enough to recover from the European games. Furthermore, Krasnodar have got good players on the bench. It'll be a tough match for Lokomotiv. Kononov's team plays perfectly both in defense and in attack. They also fixed the highest tasks."

PROBABLE XI

Lokomotiv (4-2-3-1)

Guilherme

Shishkin - Corluka - Pejcinovic - Denisov
N'Dinga - Tarasov
Samedov  - Kolomeytsev - Kasaev
Niasse

--------------------------------------------------------------

FK Krasnodar (4-3-3)

Dykan
Kaleshin - Granqvist - Sigurdsson - Petrov
Gazinskij - Akhmedov - Mamaev
Bystrov - Wanderson - Smolov

Sporting, Besiktas and Skënderbeu in Europa League.

Today, in Monaco took place the Europa League draw for the group stage. 

Lokomotiv have been drawn in the group H with Sporting (Portugal), Besiktas (Turkey) and Skenderbeu (Albania). 

The first match will be played on September 17. The second one on October 1. The third on October 22. The fourth on November 5. The fifth on November 26. The sixth on December 10. 

The full calendar will be published later.

 

Seven Lokomotiv's players have been called by the national teams.

Seven Lokomotiv's players have been called by the national teams. 

Vedran Corluka has been called by the Croatia national team for the qualifiers to the European championship vs Azerbaijan (3 September) and Norway (6 September). 

Jan Durica has been included by the Slovakia National Team in the squad for the games against Spain (5 September) and Ukraine (8 September). 

Delvin N'Dinga will take part with Congo national team to the qualifying game to the African Cup against Guinea (5 September). 

Petar Skuletic has been called by the Serbia National team for the qualifying game vs Armenia (4 September) and the friendly match against France (7 September). 

Aleksey Miranchuk and Dmitrij Barinov have been called by the Youth Team Russia for the qualifying games to the European championship against Finland (4 September) and Austria (8 September). 

Vitalij Denisov has been called by the Uzbekistan national team for the qualifiers to the 2018 World Cup against Yemen (3 September) and Philippines (8 September). 

Igor Cherevchenko: "The guys gave me a gift".

Igor Cherevchenko in the post-game press-conference spoke about the game against Ufa (0:3), resuming it. 

- We fully controlled the match. We knew that Ufa would have created many dangerous chances on the inactive balls, as a consequence we were prepared on it carefully. Generally speaking, they made me a good impression. 

- How do you value the match of Kasaev?

- I'm very happy. The guys gave me a gift. Thanks also to the fans that supported us. 

- No Lokomotiv's players were called for the Russia National Team.

- We've got good players, but each coach has his own vision. 

- What has Niasse got with the hand?

- He had a fracture that hasn't still healed. Niasse constantly fall on his hand.

Ufa - Lokomotiv 0:3.

Lokomotiv defeated Ufa in the sixth round of the Russian Premier League, winning the fourth away game in a row. 

Compared to the game against Terek, the technical staff decided to make two changes in the starting line-up: Pejcinovic replaced Logashov, while Kolomeytsev took the place of Miranchuk due to tactical reasons. 

At the eve of the match, the team remembered the dreary atmosphere there was in Ufa before the Russian Cup's round. Today, everything was different with no fog. In particular, we should underline the presence of a banner in the Lokomotiv's fans sector that celebrated Igor' Cherevchenko for his 41st birthday. 

Lokomotiv had played for the first time in the season with the green kit, which is loved by the fans. 'Railroaders' took the lead after five minutes with Niasse, who took advantage from a inattention of the Ufa's defense and beat Yurchenko. However, this goal didn't influence the home side that tried to score the 1:1 with a powerful shot of Igboun, but Guilherme was careful. A few minutes before the break, Lokomotiv doubled the score: Kolomeytsev served a fantastic ball to Kasaev, who scored on the corner with a beautiful shot. 

In the second half, Ufa tried to change something ans as a consequence Kolyvanov put in the field Zinchenko and Pourie. However, this was vain: Igboun was sent away and so Lokomotiv was able to control the game. Five minutes before the final whistle, Pejcinovic scored the third one with a great header. 

Lokomotiv won the fourth away game of the season in a row and took the second place in the table. 

Russian Premier League. Week sixth 

"Ufa" - "Lokomotiv" - 0:3 (0:2) 

Goals: Niasse, 5 (0:1). Kasaev, 35 (0:2). Pejčinović, 80 (0:3)

"Ufa": Yurchenko, Katsalapov (Zinchenko, 46), Sukhov, Tumasyan, Osipov, Zaseev, Stotskiy, Paurevic (Fomin, 64), Marcinho, Handzic (Pourie, 46), Igboun

"Lokomotiv": Guilherme, Denisov (Logashov, 86), Corluka, Shishkin, Pejčinović, Tarasov (Al Miranchuk, 81), Kasaev, N'Dinga, Samedov, Kolomeytsev, Niasse (Maicon, 74)

Yellow cards: Katsalapov, 10. Igboun, 36. Zaseev, 53. Tumasyan, 62 

Red card: Igboun, 58 (second yellow card)

Referee: Vladimir Moskalev (Voronezh) 

August 23. "Ufa". Neftyanik Stadium

Preview Ufa - Lokomotiv.

  

УФА // Локомотив

Sunday, August 23rd 2015

(Neftyanik Stadium, Ufa)

12.30 FK Ufa - Lokomotiv Moscow

Referee: Vladimir Moskalyov (Voronezh).

Assistants: Aleksey Vorontsov (Yaroslavl) and Vladislav Nazarov (Nevinnomyssk).

Sub assistants: ? (?) and ? (?).

Delegate: Aleksander Safonov (Moscow).

Inspector: Stanislav Sukhina (Malakhovka).

Precedents

2014

Lokomotiv - Ufa 0-0

2015

Ufa- Lokomotiv 1-0: 50' Paurevic. 

Lokomotiv:

Absents: Durica (injured), Sheshukov (injured).

In doubt: Boussoufa.

Rankings:

Ufa: 9.

Lokomotiv: 3.

Streaming (available half an hour before the start of the match):
HERE.
-NTV Nash Futbol. Commentators: Aleksey Andronov.

Curiosities:

//. 

___________________________________________________________________

Today, Lokomotiv has flown to Ufa and had a training session at Neftyanik Stadium. Tomorrow, 'Railroaders' will face Ufa at 13:30 Moscow Time.

Loko has earned 9 points in the first three away matches of the season. A fantastic three on three that let Cherevchenko to dream to the highest positions. Mordoviya, Anzhi and Ural were all good opponents, but in our opinion Ufa is stronger than them in this moment. Igor' Kolyvanov is a very skilled Head Coach, while the sports director Gazizov built a heavy team. In this transfers window, they've signed two of the best players of the Danish League (Igboun and Pourie), plus an experienced player like Katsalapov. Ufa has played a great football so far. They were not only able to draw against Spartak and Kuban' (both games away), but also to provide a fantastic performance vs Zenit. In the end, the Saint Petersburg club won, but the Kolyvanov's XI merited at least a point.

Regarding the team, Safronidi is recovering from an injury. As a consequence, he played with the reserves team today together with Kilin, Semakin and Diego Carlos. By the way, Lokomotiv won 1:3 thanks to a double of Galadzhan and a goal of Makhatadze. Kolyvanov should confirm the starting line-up that won in Saransk against Mordoviya with Paurevic that should return and take the place of Safronidi. At the same time, we must underline the whole attack's unit: Zinchenko is a fantastic talent, Igboun has already demonstrated his value in these first rounds, Stotskiy is a brilliant jolly and Marcinho is a strong offensive midfielder. 

Cherevchenko, instead, has to decide some ballots. Logashov played an awful match against Terek, but he has got the Russian passport and this could be very useful during the match. However, we prefer including Pejcinovic in the starting line-up. In the midfield, the couple formed by N'Dinga and Tarasov should be confirmed. Miranchuk could be replaced by Kolomeytsev in order to contain more efficiently the Ufa's attacks. In fact, Cherevchenko said: "I can't exclude that Kolomeytsev could play closer to attack with the departure of Boussoufa." Grigorjev, instead, has recently returned training to the main group, but should start the match on the bench. 

Vitaliy Denisov said: "Ufa won't be an easy opponent for Lokomotiv. The artificial turf adds new adjustments." Cherevchenko, instead, underlined the importance of the auto-criticism: "I've spoken to the players. We analyzed the game against Terek and we drew our conclusions.The next game will show if our conclusions are right or not. We go to Ufa for the victory." 

We expect a sold-out and an interesting match on the field. Check out all the news before and after the match on our Twitter: @confortistefano

PROBABLE XI

Ufa (4-2-3-1)

Yurchenko
Katsalapov - Tumasyan - Osipov - Sukhov 
Zaseev - Paurevic
Stotskiy - Igboun - Zinchenko 

Marcinho 

--------------------------------------------------------------

Lokomotiv (4-2-3-1)

Guilherme
Shishkin - Corluka - Pejcinovic - Denisov
N'Dinga - Tarasov
Samedov - Kolomeytsev - Kasaev

Niasse