Better than the new two: how the acquisitions of Zenit and CSKA come to the fore

The traditional Winline Winter RPL Cup started with the Zenit— Dynamo match. And in it, the blue-white-blues, the winners of last year's tournament, turned out to be stronger than the blue—whites — 2:1. Newcomer John John played a tough match for the St. Petersburg club, and Dynamo are still forced to do without a number of leaders. In the second match, CSKA and Krasnodar scored a productive draw (2:2). Luciano scored the first goal for the Army, and the 17-year-old striker scored for the Bulls.

Strong debut

The coaches approached the meeting with different strategies. Sergey Semak fielded a mixed squad, which also included recognized leaders Douglas Santos and Wendell, but there were much more reservists.: Moskvichev and Drkusic, Adamov on the right in midfield, Mikhailov, Kondakov, Erokhin. Rolan Gusev, on the other hand, immediately threw all the strongest into battle. At the same time, the coaching staff continues to experiment with two forwards — Tyukavin and Sergeev.

But perhaps the most interesting is the debut of John John, who was recently bought by St. Petersburg for €18 million from RB Bragantino. It took the 23-year—old Brazilian 45 minutes to make Zenit fans fall in love with him - the rookie left winger was by far the brightest player of the first half. Huge involvement, participation in selection and pressure, active movement, technique, strokes, passing the heel and passing the ball, drawing standards.

The debutant immediately found a common language with Wendel, after the "wall" with whom he led Karavaev one-on-one with a hidden pass. The defender, however, missed a year due to injury, so he couldn't beat Lunev with a non-working left foot. But a corner immediately followed, John John served, and Erokhin shot his header at the far post without interference — 1-0. The veteran consolidated his leadership among the team's winter scorers — he already has four goals. Until the stellar Duran arrived, Erokhin simply has no competitors in sight. John John scored a goal in his debut match. Compared to his melancholic predecessor, Gerson, John looks like a much more motivated footballer.

Dynamo also bought a Brazilian in the winter, but for now Ricardo, who was acquired for €7 million from Botafogo, is training after a vacation with restrictions. It's worth waiting until the end of the week for a full-fledged central defender in the general group. Artur and Gladyshev will join the partners soon, and Glebov, Chavez, and Zainutdinov will be injured a little later, and it's a little difficult for the blue and white team without these losses.

So far, the attempt to switch to a two—striker game looks unconvincing: Tyukavin and Sergeev duplicate each other in front, and there is no one to deliver the ball to them - there is no dispatcher in the scheme. The two forwards didn't have a single moment in the first half. And in general, before the break, it can only be noted that Bitello's shot from close range helped Moskvichev. So Zenit's minimal advantage in the first half is quite logical.

But Dynamo's switch to the usual 4-5-1 pattern in the second half brought results. Miranchuk, who replaced Sergeev, brought Tyukavin out one-on-one with a subtle pass in the 59th minute. Kerzhakov, however, could not beat the striker in close combat, but Bitello was the first to finish off — 1:1.

The Muscovites mostly finished the match with reservists from Dynamo-2 — Balakhonov, Isaev, Miroshnichenko, Zaidenzal, Marinkin. St. Petersburg's main forces came out — Nino, Diveev, Luis Enrique, Mantuan, Barrios, Pedro, Mostovoy, so Zenit's victory is natural. Nino scored after a corner kick, but Sobolev couldn't hit an almost empty net, beating the goalkeeper.

Zenit is confidently starting the tournament, and Semak is certainly pleased with John's debut. Dynamo still has no wins in the regular season at the winter training camp.

Winter dispute: RPL clubs will play a tournament in the Emirates

Krasnodar, Zenit, CSKA and Dynamo will show the first results of their preparations for the second part of the season.

We agree to a draw

No one will disclose complete information about the level of workload and tactical tasks at training camps, so surprises are always possible in friendly matches. So, Krasnodar kept a very decent pace for the winter in the previous meeting with Kazakhstan's Elim, but in the opening of Tuesday's match it did not keep up with the high-speed attacks of CSKA. The army team did everything so smoothly and quickly, as if they had another team against the Samarkand Dynamo. But, again, this is completely normal at training camps.

With an interval of a couple of minutes, Krugovoi almost reached Kislyak's serve to the goal area and then released the ball a little, being able to go one-on-one. And the logical continuation was Luciano Gondo's first army goal. The Argentine, who took the vacant ninth number after Alerrandro's departure, showed that not only central defenders can score after corners in CSKA. Plus, the striker played an important role in the second effective attack, providing Glebov with the ball, and the Swede led Krugovoy to the goal with a pass.

Luciano was generally impressed with his activity and excellent movement. Not only was he on the edge, but he also shifted to the semi-flanks or dropped a little deeper to participate in the ball play or free up areas for Glebov and Krugovoy to turn on. Even Victor Sa's shot in his own penalty area was taken by the Argentine newcomer, but the opponent struck again from the rebound, and Torop had to save his team. In fact, it was Krasnodar's only chance to score in the first 45 minutes.

However, the champions could have conceded more than two goals. Of particular note is Agkatsev's save after Barinov's shot. In addition, the Bulls also had to carry out a forced — and required by the regulations — replacement. Jubal grabbed another yellow card after the second goal, and Diogo Costa came out instead. As it turned out, he received the maximum workload in his team among the field players on Tuesday, as the black and green completely changed the squad for the second half.

At least due to the freshness, Krasnodar first leveled up the game, and then began to threaten the goal more often. As a result, in an attack where 17-year-old Huseynov and Fingers performed well, Krivtsov struck two shots from the center of the penalty area. The first hit Joao Victor, the second stopped the rush, but Kobnan David effectively adjusted to the rebound. However, CSKA did not sail and could quickly restore the status quo, thanks to the actions of Gondu. He seemed to have done everything for Barinov, but Agkatsev kicked the ball away.

The degree of play went up, which resulted in Moises' overly emotional reaction to Gustavo's foul in the center of the field. A local skirmish escalated into a collective showdown near the benches, the removal of Moises without the right to replace him for aggressive behavior, and a discussion between Celestini and Musayev. The Bulls were allowed to change Sadchikov, who played a rough tackle on the edge for the second warning.

At CSKA, which not only remained in the minority, but also changed the composition, the attacking game disappeared as a phenomenon. Accordingly, the bulls' pressure ended with Kobnan David hitting the crossbar and finishing off Huseynov. And if it hadn't been for Hurry's cool rescue, it would have been over in 90 minutes.

But, perhaps, the draw turned out to be logical, and the emotional football was harmoniously complemented by a penalty shootout. He opened it quickly, stopping Kozlov's blow. Koryakin was close to making a comeback save, but each time he was missing quite a bit. Well, the point — or rather, the winning exclamation mark — was put by Tamerlan Musaev, who sent the ball down the center. Having missed the two-goal advantage, CSKA nevertheless took its toll.