CSKA Moscow captain Sergei Ignashevich on Monday warned his team that Inter Milan aren’t significantly weaker for the departure of striker Samuel Eto’o ahead of their Champions League clash Tuesday.
The Cameroonian forward left Inter last season to join Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala on a deal worth a reported 20 million euros per year.
“Eto’o has gone – one of the best footballers in the world, but (Mauro) Zarate has arrived, so if the attack has weakened, it’s hardly by much,” said Ignashevich.
Eto’o had a formidable record of at least a goal every other game for Inter, form he appears to have taken with him to Makhachkala, where he has scored twice in his first three matches.
Ignashevich, 32, is the club’s stand-in captain while goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev recovers from a knee injury.
Despite Ignashevich’s warning, Inter have suffered in Eto’o’s absence, with replacement signing Diego Forlan and Zarate, on loan from Lazio, failing to make up for it thus far.
The club are languishing in 16th place in Serie A after slumping to their worst start in nearly 30 years, prompting the directors to fire coach Gian Piero Gasperini and appoint the well-traveled Claudio Ranieri. Part of the miserable form included a 1-0 home defeat to Turkish minnow Trabzonspor in Champions League match day one.
Ranieri won his first match 3-1 at Bologna on Sunday, firing a warning to CSKA that his team’s fortunes may be on the turn. Diego Milito scored a penalty and defender Lucio added another for in the 87th after Bologna's Alessandro Diamanti had leveled the score at 1-1 with a penalty.
For the CSKA game, Wesley Sneijder has been ruled out with a muscle problem, with Maicon, Thiago Motta and Dejan Stankovic also out injured.
Akinfeev apart, Leonid Slutsky has a full-strength squad and enters Tuesday’s game on the back of a 3-1 home win over league outsiders Volga Nizhny Novgorod on Saturday. Ignashevich scored a penalty after the opener from the league’s leading scorer Seydou Doumbia and a second from forward Alan Dzagoev.
CSKA are joint second in Group B with Lille after earning a 2-2 draw in France earlier this month thanks to a Doumbia double.
CSKA captain warns Inter just as strong without Eto’o ahead of Champions League clash
© RIA Novosti . Anton Denisov
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CSKA Moscow captain Sergei Iganshevich on Monday warned his team that Inter Milan aren’t significantly weaker for the departure of striker Samuel Eto’o ahead of their Champions League clash Tuesday.
