"We need to beat Rostov first, and then we'll talk about Spartak."

Dynamo Moscow is one of the most successful teams in Russian football at the beginning of spring. Having failed the first part of the season, when the blue and white team ended up in 10th place in the national championship, their head coach Valery Karpin resigned. His ex-assistant Rolan Gusev took over the post and was confirmed in his new capacity in December. In the winter, under his leadership, Dynamo held its first training camps and in early March won its first three official matches, all with a crushing score.

In the national championship, Dynamo defeated Samara Krylia Sovetov (4:0) and CSKA Moscow (4:1), rising to seventh place in the RPL table. Between these successes, Spartak Moscow was also defeated (5:2) in the first game of the RPL Cup semi-final. Now Gusev's team has to keep this three-goal advantage following the results of the return game, which will be held on March 18. In this case, the blue and white team will be in the penultimate stage of the Cup playoffs. But first they will have an away match of the 21st round of the championship against Rostov, which will take place on March 14. In an interview with Izvestia, Dynamo midfielder Daniil Fomin explained the secrets of his spring successes and talked about his goals for the rest of the season.

— What do you associate Dynamo's spring performance with?

— We worked a lot at the training camp in the winter and now in March, with the resumption of the season. We worked on the structure of the game, on the transitional phases in attack and defense. The new coaching staff has brought a lot in this regard. All of this together leads to creating chances and scoring goals. We see all this on the pitch. The coaching staff is doing a great job. We will keep going in this direction.

— Has anything changed emotionally during the winter under the new coaching staff?

— Emotionally, the most important thing is the result. When he is there, everything is positive within the team, in training and in everyday life. Everyone works for each other, for the same cause. We started the spring well. And this is a great springboard for continuing the fight in the championship and the Cup of Russia. The situation is very good for us now. We need to build on our current successes.

— Do you have enough emotions to continue fighting after a series of such major victories?

— I wouldn't say that we're spilling a lot of emotions right now. It seems to me that we are gaining a lot. Because victory is always a positive charge. Recovery is better after victories. And everything is getting better. So let's see. The most important thing is the result. He's here now. We need to keep it going and move on.

— How much effort are you willing to spend on the championship now, given that Dynamo has almost no medals there and is not in danger of relegation? Is there a clear priority in favor of the Russian Cup?

— There is no division between these two tournaments. But, of course, we are far from winning the championship. We need to look at the standings realistically. Of course, you have to win any match. We try to do that. But we really want to win the Cup.

— Which final result in the championship will you consider the most acceptable, taking into account the position you found yourself in in the first part of the season?

— I don't want to guess and predict. The higher, the better.

— Can we say that the confrontation with Spartak in the Russian Cup is already over after such a crushing victory of Dynamo in the first match?

— No, of course not. There is a second match, we need to prepare for it. We did a great job in the first match. Now everything depends on us. We will prepare for the return game, but now we have a trip to Rostov in the championship ahead, we need to beat them first, and then we'll talk about Spartak.