Zenit Saint Petersburg’s Malcom has revealed it was the “best news ever” when he was given the all clear to face Chelsea in the Champions League next week.
The Brazilian
alongside his teammate, Claudinho was initially ruled out of the game after
the Brazilian FA requested FIFA to impose bans on the players who failed to
report to international duty due to Covid-19 fears.
However, the
decision was reverted on Friday evening, allowing Malcom to face-off against
Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.
And the Brazilian revealed the
clearance was one of the best news he had heard speaking to Zenit’s
official website.
“I spoke with my girlfriend
about it and said that if I can’t play against either Akhmat or Chelsea, it
would be one of the saddest things that’s happened to me,” Malcom said.
“Fortunately, we got the letter
this morning and I was told I can play. I was extremely happy, this is some of
the best news I’ve ever received! The starting XI was decided yesterday, but
I’m happy I was able to come on in the second half and help us get the win.”
Malcom scored for Zenit on
Saturday afternoon coming off the bench in a 3-1 victory against FC Akhmat
Grozny.
And the Brazilian is relishing
the opportunity to play the European Champions even though he admits Zenit will
face a tough challenge.
“We all know this will be a
difficult match and we understand that we will need to defend a lot and look
for chances on the counterattack.
“We will have to work twice as
much as be twice as quick as we did today. But I am sure that we will have
chances and we will try to take those chances.”
Chelsea are heading into the
game in good form and are yet to lose a competitive game this season.
Zenit are currently the holders
of the Russian Premier League and are leading the table once again after seven
games played.
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