"We want to go through to the end of the championship without defeats"

Last weekend, the football players of the Moscow "Locomotive" held a bright capital derby with Dynamo as part of the 11th round of the RPL, winning it with a score of 5:3. This allowed the "railwaymen" to take a two-week break for the national team games in second place in the table, lagging just one point behind the leading CSKA Moscow. Mikhail Galaktionov's team is still undefeated in the championship, remaining the last team not to lose a single match.

The match against Dynamo was fully played by defender Egor Pogostnov, who managed to gain a foothold in the last four rounds. In an interview with Izvestia, the 21-year-old football player commented on his victory in the derby, stated his desire to go through the entire championship undefeated, explained what needs to be done to win the tournament, and also shared his opinion on the high performance of 19-year-old Loko midfielder Alexei Batrakov, who leads the national championship scoring race with nine goals.

— What do you associate with such a large number of goals in the derby with Dynamo?

— Apparently, both we and they were good at attacking. Although, as a defender, I can say that I would like to see as few such matches as possible.

— What should be done to make such matches as few as possible?

— Play defensively with more concentration and avoid such moments.

— What are your emotions from the rescue of goalkeeper Anton Mitryushkin in the match against Dynamo?

— Well done! I just got a few dead balls. Handsome!

— How would you comment on the high performance of Alexei Batrakov, who again, as in the first half of the last championship, scores in almost every match?

"There's nothing wrong with his head. He adjusts to every match and wants to score goals in every game. Hence the result.

— How did you manage to break into the base this season? You were in reserve in the seven summer rounds of the championship, but in the last four RPL matches this fall you were always in the starting line-up.

— I was given a chance, and I took it. And then you need to prove your worth in every match. Prove it with results and actions. We have a high level of competition in the team, so every match can turn everything around.

— Lokomotiv remains the last RPL team to go undefeated in the current championship. Is there a special incentive to keep the number zero in the "lost matches" column as long as possible?

— We would like to go undefeated until the end of the championship, that's our incentive.

— Are you eager to repeat the achievement of Arsenal in London, who did not lose a single match in the English Championship in 2003/2004?

— Or set your own (smiles).

— How did Loko overcome the recent decline in the form of five consecutive draws?

— Due to the fact that we won two victories, broke a series of draws and regained confidence.

— Do you believe that you can fight for the championship?

— The championship is long — let's move from match to match.

— What should be done to really compete for gold?

— Win every match and not look at any results. As we did in the game against Dynamo, we won and went away for three days of rest with a good mood and three points.