Russia 2018: Salah is a great player ―Fernandes

Mohamed Salah celebrate his goal against Russia at the FIFA World Cup

Following their 3-1 victory over Egypt, Russia defender Mario Fernandes said that Mohamed Salah is a great player but they were able to deal with him.

Russia defeated the Pharaohs 3-1 in the second game of Group A at the 2018 World Cup. The hosts, who beat Saudi Arabia in the competition’s opener, now top the group with six points. If Uruguay defeated the Saudi side in their second game on Wednesday, the hosts would officially secure their spot in the round of 16.

The hosts went 3-0 up in the first 20 minutes of the second half at the St. Petersburg Stadiujm, as Egypt captain Ahmed Fathi scored an own goal before Denis Cheryshev and Artem Dzyuba capitalised on defensive mistakes to make it 3-0. Mohamed Salah then reduced the deficit as he scored from the spot with 17 minutes to go.

“Mohamed Salah is a great player but we managed to stop him,” Fernandes told EFE news agency after the game

Russia are scheduled to play their final group game on June 25 against Uruguay at the Samara Arena, while Egypt will face Saudi Arabia at the Volgograd Arenal.

“Every game is important. We are going to play against Uruguay, we know that they are a great team and we are going to give our 100 per cent, like all the games,” the 27-year-old added.