Russia international Yuri Zhirkov has hailed the impact of teammate Alan Dzagoev following their 4-1 win over the Czech Republic at Euro 2012.
Dzagoev, who opened the scoring against the Czechs, re-established Russia's two-goal lead in the second half after Vaclav Pilar pulled his side back to within one goal in Wroclaw.
"The Czech team played respectably," the former Chelsea player told reporters.
"There was a concern [at 2-1] but we overcame it. Thanks to Dzagoev, who scored the third goal, it got easier."
Russia meet co-hosts Poland in Warszawa next week.
