Go on a lap: RPL goes on break with unexpected results
The first half of the Russian football season has come to an end. The last round of the first round made minor adjustments to the leading group and even surprised with individual results. Dynamo's decline continues, Akron broke into the top 8, Zenit lost points on a difficult field, CSKA won in Makhachkala, and Spartak in Grozny. For more information, see the Izvestia article.
Akron dropped Dynamo to 10th place without Dzyuba.
The tour began with a trip from Tolyatti residents to visit bloodless Muscovites. The blue and white team had seven players missing at once. The recent losses of Danil Glebov (hip injury) and Anton Miranchuk (ankle injury) were particularly notable. Akron went into the match without Artyom Dzyuba, who is still recovering from injury, and Ionuc Nedelcaru, who missed the game due to too many yellow cards.
In the first half, an even game did not bring goals to the audience at VTB Arena, and during the break, Akron head coach Zaur Tedeev decided to refresh the game with a double substitution. The conversion worked after 17 minutes: Khosonov stunningly cut out the outside of his foot on Pestryakov, and the 18-year-old midfielder easily removed Kutitsky and powerfully shot into the near corner, opening the scoring.
10 minutes before the end of the match, Tolyatti doubled the score: Fernandez and Rubens did not figure out the defense and gave the ball to Lonchar, who made a one-on-one touchdown. Dynamo could only respond with Sergeyev's goal in the 88th. Thanks to this victory, Akron is ahead of the blue and white in the standings, climbing into the top eight. Dynamo remain on the 10th line.
Valery Karpin's team made the worst start in 19 years — even in the season of relegation to the FNL it was better (then they were in ninth place with 18 points). Everything is so bad that Karpin was asked after the match if the team would be eliminated from the RPL: "This team with these players will not be eliminated — 200%." Well, for now, the joint zone is closer than the top three.
Rubin could not reveal the worst team of the championship
Paris NN hosted Kazan, having a terrible streak in its passivity — nine matches without a win. The only time we scored points was when we played a goalless draw with Baltika. And the last time we achieved success was on September 13, Orenburg suffered (3:1). Rubin also approached the game with unpleasant statistics — only one triumph in the last five meetings.
Already in the first minutes, Nizhny Novgorod scored a goal after a mistake by Rubin goalkeeper Evgeny Stavera, who threw the ball into his own goal. However, referee Anton Frolov, after the intervention of VAR, saw Karic offside at the time of the Forest's submission and canceled the goal. The team couldn't create more dangerous moments in the first half.
In the second half, both of them increased their desire to open the scoring — Rubin had good approaches and a moment with suspicion of a penalty in the Kazan penalty area with Boselli's participation. But it was not possible to shake up any of the gate grids. 0-0 — Paris NN remains in last place, while Rubin misses a good opportunity to get closer to the leading group.
CSKA narrowly won in Makhachkala
The teams met for the second time in four days, in the first match of the quarterfinals of the "RPL Way" of the Russian Cup in Kaspiysk, Dynamo won (1-0). The army team tested the nearest reserve in that match and clearly had the return game in mind. On Saturday, the field of the same Anzhi Arena was filled with the maximum possible combat personnel.
But this time, Dynamo had a great hold on all the attacking movements of the red and blue, giving them almost nothing to create in the first 45 minutes. In turn, the residents of Makhachkala themselves tried to threaten the gates of Torop. Perhaps the most dangerous moment was created by Hosseinnejad and Azzi: the first one hung in, the second dangerously shot with his head, but missed the target.
In the second half, the game revived and finally began to delight with double-edged moments. And, I must say, Dynamo looked more interesting again, remembered for Kagermazov's dense long-range shot, Dzhabrailov's shot from six meters and Azzi's attempt. But ironically, it was the CSKA players who scored the only goal: a fresh Popovich, who appeared on the field a few minutes before the goal, easily ran around Mubarik and rolled Glebov, who had to miss the empty net.
Fabio Celestini's team scored the most important three points for the championship race. The victory allowed the army team to climb to the first place at least before the Krasnodar match. The residents of Makhachkala remained dangerously close to the junction zone and have equal points with the Wings of the Soviets, which are located one line below.
Rostov beat Sochi for the second time in its history
The Southerners came to Sochi with only one defeat in their last 11 matches in all tournaments, and they hadn't lost in the RPL at all since mid-August (two wins, six draws). Sochi residents are trying in every possible way to improve their plight, but so far it has not been very successful.
From the very beginning of the match, Rostov could have opened the scoring, but Degtev saved, deflecting dangerous shots from Golenkov, Mohebi and Sako. In the 39th minute, he did not help out either: a beautiful combination of Golenkov – Mokhebi – Shchetinin ended with an accurate shot from the latter. A few minutes later, Mohebi could have doubled the advantage, but the opponent's keeper scored again.
Sochi tried to develop counterattacks and throw crosses into Yatimov's penalty area, but they failed to create any sharpness. Jonathan Alba's team held 1-0 and jumped out to ninth place, beating their former coach at the finish of the first round. Surprisingly, the last time Rostov beat Sochi in October 2019, it was the first meeting in the history of these teams. In the very next game, there was a legendary covid 10:1, and since then, Rostov has only been able to take points from its rivals three times, without ever winning.
Krylia slowed down Zenit and broke away from the relegation zone
The blue-white-blues arrived in Samara as the absolute favorite. Sergei Semak's squad lost to Dynamo Moscow in the Cup last week, but they lost points in the championship only twice in the last nine games (draws with Baltika and Akron). Krylia Sovetov, on the other hand, has won only once since September (2-0 against Sochi).
At the beginning of the meeting, the St. Petersburg team besieged Pesyakov's penalty area, and Maxim Glushenkov, a former Samara player, was more active than the others. Krylia Sovetov boldly responded with attacks from Oleinikov and Pechenin. In the second half, the teams came out with the score 0-0, but five minutes later, other numbers lit up on the scoreboard: after Akhmetov's cross in the confusion in the Zenit penalty area, Costanza was the best to navigate, leading the hosts ahead.
Six minutes later, the guests were already celebrating the goal after Glushenkov's twisted free kick. Zenit looked a little better in the remaining half hour, although the wings even had a hit in the frame of the gate — Marin did his best. Nevertheless, Sergey Karasev blew the whistle for the end of the game to record a draw, which, of course, turned out to be more in the hands of the Samaritans.
Lokomotiv suffered without Batrakov against Orenburg
The main star of the "railwaymen" missed the ball because of the fourth yellow card received in the match against Zenit in the last round. Dmitry Vorobyov, who was crucial to Loko's attack, was also absent due to injury.
The first half passed at a calm pace, and already at the beginning of the second Rybchinsky struck the crossbar of the Lokomotiv goal with a ringing shot. In the 66th minute, Orenburg was on the verge: referee Sergey Tsyganok awarded a penalty and issued a red card to Chichinadze. The intervention of VAR canceled the eleven-meter shot and left the Orenburg player on the field, seeing Rudenko's violation in the attack.
Five minutes later, fate finally overtook the guests: Komlichenko converted a penalty kick awarded for demolishing Barinov in the penalty area. Soon, the red-green forward scored again, but this scoring shot did not go into the statistics due to offside. Despite the nine minutes added, the score did not change anymore.
Dejan Stankovic interrupted Spartak's nightmarish streak against Akhmat with a minimal victory in Grozny. The red-and-whites went to Grozny, inspired by their confident success in the match with Lokomotiv in the Russian Cup and with the clear intention of ending the "curse of Akhmat." For Muscovites, Grozny remained one of the most uncomfortable teams in the championship — Spartak's last victory was dated December 2021.
From the first minutes, Spartak players rushed to the attack, and Akhmat boldly snapped — what is the exchange of hits to the post by Marquinhos and Ismael worth. In the 36th minute, Dejan Stankovic's men still managed to break through Shelia, the recipe for the goal is simple: Ndonga's mistake, Garcia's excellent coordination with the subsequent pass and Solari's billiard poke.
In the opening of the second half, the Argentine scored a double, locking Dmitriev's overhang with his head from the left flank. By the end of half an hour, Akhmat had won back one goal, which came after a cross, one of Cherchesov's favorite techniques. But surprisingly, Sadulaev's corner was blocked not by the towering Ndong or Gandri, but by the 181-centimeter Melkadze. In the end, the Grozny team piled on Maksimenko's goal, but it was not possible to push the saving ball into the net. 1:2 — Spartak reduces to three points the gap from the top three, Akhmat remains in 11th place.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
