Running of the bulls: how Krasnodar increased its gap from competitors

For the second round in a row, Krasnodar strengthens its leadership in the Russian Football Championship, taking advantage of the misfires of its competitors. If at the end of the week before last he increased the gap from Spartak Moscow by two points, now he has done it in relation to Zenit St. Petersburg, who drew away with Lokomotiv Moscow (1:1). Krasnodar won in the last, 23rd round against Tolyatti Akron (1-0) and is now five points ahead of Zenit and Spartak, which defeated Rostov this time (3-0).

Lokomotiv – Zenit

After the resounding defeat by the Samara Wings of the Soviets (2:5), it seemed that Lokomotiv was in crisis. But he was able to get ready for the game against Zenit, which had won big at home against Rubin Kazan (4-0) a round earlier and began to show signs of returning to its best form.

But last weekend, Loko managed to put up a decent resistance to the reigning champion. Almost the entire game was played in an equal struggle, and in the middle of the second half Alexey Batrakov opened the scoring. Zenit responded by trying to attack, but for a long time it did little good. However, the head coach of the guests, Sergey Semak, managed to save the game due to two substitutions. In the 69th minute, he released Maxim Glushenkov onto the field. And on the 85th — Alexander Sobolev.

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Two minutes later, Glushenkov hit the post with a powerful shot from an acute angle, and Sobolev finished off into an empty net, scoring his first goal for Zenit. Having saved themselves from defeat in the end, the St. Petersburg club reduced the match to a draw and further complicated their task in the race for the championship.

"Zenit did not look its best in attack again, it moved very hard and created chances," Nikolai Naumov, former president of Lokomotiv, shared his opinion with Izvestia. — The Railwaymen, in turn, decided to play defensively, they acted very competently with a low block and found their chance ahead, scoring a goal. However, Zenit's class took its toll anyway and it escaped defeat. But I still created enough problems for myself in the fight for the championship. But Semak's team can still fix everything — a lot depends on the upcoming home game against Krasnodar in the next round.

Krasnodar – Akron

Krasnodar played their home match immediately after Zenit's draw with Loko and knew that they could increase the gap to five points from the St. Petersburg club. There was a feeling that the Bulls were under psychological pressure from this moment. In any case, for a long time they acted very uncertainly.

Akron fought back well. Krasnodar controlled the ball and even created a couple of good chances in the first half, but couldn't score for a long time. It was only after the break that Caio Pantalean opened the scoring in this match. Then he played well on the counterattack, he could have scored another goal. Alexander Chernikov's shot was especially effective when the ball hit the crossbar. But the slippery score of the match persisted until the very end. Nevertheless, Murad Musayev's team brought the matter to a minimal victory and now have a good five—point lead over the two main pursuers, Spartak and Zenit.

Chasing the bulls: Krasnodar takes advantage of Spartak's misfire

The Southern club increased the gap from the red and white to five points and retained a three-point advantage over Zenit

"It was clear that Krasnodar was feeling nervous about its leadership and the opportunity to increase its lead over Zenit," Maxim Demenko, a former Bulls midfielder, said in a conversation with Izvestia. — Hence the uncertainty in the realization of their moments, the long retention of a slippery score. But in the end, the team managed to turn itself around and bring the match with Akron to victory. What speaks to her as capable of going after gold is that it is through such nervous victories that trophies are obtained. So congratulations to Krasnodar: they have made a good start for the remaining seven rounds. But a lot will depend on his next trip to St. Petersburg to Zenit.

Rostov – Spartak

After a misfire in the away match against Akhmat (0-0), the red and white had no right to lose points in the game against Rostov if they wanted to continue the fight for the championship. But a strong Donskoy club could create big problems for them. That's how it was in the first half, when the zeros were still on the scoreboard.

But Rostov's rough play led to sad consequences for him. Before the break, referee Vladimir Moskalev sent off Alexei Sutormin for a harsh foul against Marquinhos. In the second half, the hosts held the draw for only 20 minutes until Nail Umyarov opened the scoring. However, shortly before that, Rostov almost scored when Daniil Denisov managed to knock the ball rolling into an empty net.

After Spartak's goal, everything went according to the guests' scenario. Three minutes later, Christopher Martins doubled their lead. And at the end of the meeting, Ezequiel Barco brought the matter to a rout. Dejan Stankovic's team won and equaled Zenit on points.

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"It was a good fighting game before the elimination," Sergei Balakhnin, the former Rostov head coach, told Izvestia. — But then Spartak's numerical advantage took its toll. Everything could have gone differently if Denisov hadn't pulled the ball out of an empty net, but then the red-and-white class, with one player, had more influence on the course of the meeting and the result.

Five more matches were also played in the last round. In the Moscow derby, CSKA beat Dynamo (3:1). Pari Nizhny Novgorod lost at home to Orenburg (1:2). Dynamo Makhachkala defeated Khimki on its own field (4:1). Samara's Krylia Sovetov missed out on a victory over Rubin Kazan, which equalized 1-1 at the end of the meeting. In the first game under the leadership of new head coach Igor Shalimov, Fakel Voronezh broke a five—match losing streak by getting a draw at home with Akhmat Grozny (0:0).