Gazzaev planned Semak role

PFC CSKA Moskva coach Valeriy Gazzaev claimed that he always planned to introduce Sergei Semak as a second-half substitute after his performance killed off Paris Saint-Germain FC's hopes of picking up their first point in UEFA Champions League Group H. The game was short of inspiration until Semak replaced the injured Ivica Olic and reacted quickest when Lionel Letizi parried Vágner Love's goalbound chip to head the opener. The Brazilian got the second from the penalty spot after Semak had been brought down.

Valeriy Gazzaev, CSKA coach
We planned to strengthen our attack by bringing Semak on at some point. Olic was very active in the first half and Vágner Love was less active. But when Olic was injured and Semak replaced him, Vágner Love also started to be more productive. We had three players on the field whom we assigned to take a penalty-kick if necessary, but Vágner Love was the most confident at the time. In the second half we tried to increase our movement and after that we dominated the game. We will not know more about Olic’s injury until tomorrow. I hope that the team will keep the same speed, style of play and high commitment for the next matches in the Champions League.

Vahid Halilhodzic, PSG coach
The result is terrible, a catastrophe. Before the first goal, we played quite well and it was an equal game. We also played OK at the start of the second half, but after the goal the team just fell apart. They tried to get an equaliser immediately and conceded a second goal instead. From that moment, CSKA dominated the game. In a prestigious tournament like this, a team does not have a right to waste all their chances. We had six or seven good opportunities that we could not take.