Sudden drop: how three top RPL clubs failed the start of the championship

Following the results of the first five rounds of the Russian Football Championship, three top clubs were sensationally stuck in the second half of the standings. This happened to Spartak Moscow and Zenit St. Petersburg, who drew with each other last weekend (2:2), as well as with Dynamo Moscow, who lost the CSKA Moscow derby (1:3). Moscow's Lokomotiv retains the lead, having lost the first points in the current championship as a result of an away draw with Kaliningrad Baltika (1:1).

Dynamo (Moscow) — CSKA

After the home defeat by Krasnodar (0-4) in the Russian Cup in the middle of the week, Dynamo could have rehabilitated itself in the championship due to the derby with the successful start of CSKA, but in the end almost suffered another major defeat. By the middle of the first half, the blue and white team was 0-2. Mateus Alves, a rookie from the Army, scored both times. First, he scored from Tamerlan Musaev's pass, and then he gave an assist to Milan Gajic. Shortly before the break, Matvey Kislyak brought the matter to a crushing score.

At the beginning of the second half, Denis Makarov scored one goal, but Dynamo did not have enough for more. Moreover, if it hadn't been for a few saves by goalkeeper Igor Leschuk, Valery Karpin's team could have lost even more heavily. As a result, they are in 12th place with five points, ahead of Spartak Moscow, which is in the transition zone, only by the difference between goals scored and conceded. CSKA has gained a foothold on the third line and is only two points behind the leading Lokomotiv.

CSKA is in good shape, but Dynamo can't find its game, it's in a psychological hole and under pressure, says former blue and white striker Dmitry Bulykin.

— The Army team made great use of their moments, winning due to desire and dedication. Dynamo have failed the start of the season. There were objective reasons in the form of injuries to the players and the arrival of a new head coach, who is still lapping up the players. But it is unlikely that the Dynamo management will be satisfied with such a result, which has strengthened the team with high-quality players and is already used to fighting for the highest places. I think in case of failures in the next couple of tours to Karpin, unpleasant questions may arise. And CSKA showed high-quality football again. The team is on a good run and may well claim gold. Moreover, its competitors in the form of Zenit, Spartak and Dynamo are now stalling. And so far, apart from the army, only Lokomotiv and Krasnodar are meeting the expectations that are placed on them as our leading clubs," Bulykin said.

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Spartak — Zenit

Both teams approached Saturday's head-to-head match in an extremely difficult tournament position, having won only one victory in the first four rounds. For weeks now, rumors have been spreading about the impending resignation of Spartak head coach Deyan Stankovich. Regarding his colleague from Zenit, Sergei Semak, the media also speculates that he may not be finalized until the end of the season, but it has not yet come to concrete data on finding a replacement for him.

Both teams have the biggest budgets in the RPL. In the summer, Spartak made the most expensive acquisition in its history, paying about €27 million for Brazilian midfielder Jedson. In turn, Zenit, according to media reports, gave about €25 million for another Brazilian, Gerson. Interestingly, these amounts exceed the entire budget of Dynamo Makhachkala, which, as of the end of the week, is level on points with Zenit and one point ahead of Spartak.

Moreover, if the Dagestani club beats Pari Nizhny Novgorod on Monday, it will increase its superiority over both grandees. And the match between Spartak and Zenit turned out to be quite exciting. The first hour of the game was the best for the red-whites this season. However, the St. Petersburg club scored first when Matteo Cassierra missed a penalty, but successfully played on finishing. However, by the break, Marquinhos and Jedson turned the home team's advantage into goals.

And the red card of Zenit leader Douglas Santos at the beginning of the second half seemed to bury the hopes of the guests for salvation. But, oddly enough, Spartak did not use the numerical advantage. Moreover, it was as if he stopped playing altogether after being removed from the opponent. As a result, in the 63rd minute, Alexander Sobolev equalized the score by hitting the gates of the former club, from which he had scandalously left for Zenit a year ago.

Spartak almost snatched the victory in the end when they got the right to a penalty. The goalkeeper of the blue-white-blues, Denis Adamov, fended off a shot from the point of Ezequiel Barco, saved the team after finishing him off, but failed to cope with the third shot, already performed by Jedson. But during the video review, the referee saw a double touch of the ball performed by Barko when taking a penalty, which according to the rules means a free kick for Zenit. The goal was not counted. And the match ended in a draw.

Spartak ended up in 13th place in the transition zone with four points. Zenit is ninth with five points. Dynamo Makhachkala can beat him on Monday if they at least draw with Paris NN.

"A draw is natural, although Spartak played a high—quality match on the whole," Andrei Chervichenko, the former owner of the Red and white team, said in a conversation with Izvestia. — He pressed well, pinned Zenit to his penalty area, and when the ball was lost, he met it in the other half of the field, preventing it from launching attacks quickly. Stankovich's team played unexpectedly well. And if all these positive epithets did not relate only to the first hour of the game, one could say that she deserved to win. But then, after being eliminated from the opponent, Spartak disappeared somewhere on the field, and Zenit immediately equalized. And the removal of Douglas Santos was doubtful, considering that before his foul, the referee did not register an offside position for the red-whites. So, in the last half hour, Zenit has worked for a draw. Although Semak's team looks very sluggish right now and it is not clear how it will get out of the middle of the table to the top. The same questions apply to Spartak.

Baltika — Lokomotiv

The championship leader came to visit the main sensation of the start of the tournament. Baltika did not lose any of the four meetings, especially distinguished by a crushing away victory over Spartak (3:0). The Kaliningrad club was also close to success in the home game against Loko, which remained the last team to not lose a single point.

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Andrey Talalaev's team quickly opened the scoring — Brian Hill scored in the 3rd minute. They had the advantage for most of the match. And they could hit the opponent's goal several more times. The episode in the 73rd minute was especially offensive, when Chinonso Offor shot past the goal from the middle of the penalty area without encountering any resistance from the Loko defense.

It immediately went sideways for Baltika — in the 82nd minute, after Dmitry Barinov's free kick, Nikolai Komlichenko adjusted the ball into the home team's goal and brought the Railwaymen an away draw in a very difficult match.

—Lokomotiv was very lucky to avoid defeat in this game," Nikolai Naumov, former president of the Railwaymen, told Izvestia. — We can say that Mikhail Galaktionov's team has bounced back. She conceded a rather ridiculous goal at the beginning of the meeting, but then Baltika dominated. Talalaev had set up his tactics for this match very well, and his team should have scored more. But she missed her opportunities, and Loko miraculously escaped in the end. He can enjoy this draw. But if he wants to continue to maintain leadership, then he needs to draw conclusions from this match and improve the organization of the game in the future.

Four more matches of the fifth round were also played last weekend. Akhmat Grozny beat Krylia Sovetov Samara at home (3:1), achieving victory in the first two games of the championship under the leadership of new head coach Stanislav Cherchesov. Tolyatti Akron lost to Orenburg (1:2), which won the first victory in this championship. Rubin Kazan prevailed at home over Rostov (1-0). And Krasnodar defeated Sochi (5:1) and retained second place, one point behind the leading Loko. The tour will end on Monday in Saransk, where Pari Nizhny Novgorod will play against Dynamo Makhachkala.