Grozny Pass: Zenit did not let Krasnodar go in the championship race

Following the results of the 27th round of the Russian Football Championship, a tough battle for gold continues between Krasnodar and Zenit. Last weekend, the Bulls won at home against Dynamo Makhachkala (2:1), and the club from the Northern Capital turned out to be stronger than Akhmat Grozny (2:0).

Krasnodar – Dynamo (Makhachkala)

Having regained leadership in the RPL in the middle of the week, Krasnodar was supposed to consolidate its success in the confrontation with the extremely unyielding Dagestan club. Last spring, Murad Musayev's team almost stumbled in the midst of the championship race following the results of the meeting with Dynamo. Then in Makhachkala, the bulls won 3-2, but at the very end of the meeting the opponent could have equalized with a penalty. But Krasnodar goalkeeper Stanislav Agkatsev managed to beat off an eleven—yard shot - this episode became one of the key ones in the season, following which the Southerners became champions for the first time.

This time, the hosts' problems began at the beginning of the game, when Dynamo took the lead as a result of Diego Costa's own goal.

In the middle of the first half Nikita Krivtsov managed to equalize. And soon Krasnodar got the right to shoot a penalty, but Eduard Spertsyan hit the post and missed the opportunity to lead his team ahead. Nevertheless, in the second half, the class of the defending champion showed up, and John Cordoba scored the second goal. Until the end of the match, the Makhachkala team made several attempts to even the score, but in the end they could not win back.

Krasnodar continues to be ahead of Zenit by one point in three rounds before the end of the championship. Dynamo Makhachkala is in the midst of a struggle for survival. Vadim Evseev's team is in 14th place in the transition zone and is only two points ahead of Pari Nizhny Novgorod, which is in 15th place in the direct relegation zone. Makhachkala residents are also two points behind the 11th Orenburg and 12th Samara Wings of the Soviets, which are still in positions to avoid relegation to the first league without joints.

—Krasnodar has once again shown its class and the ability to turn around poorly developing matches for it," Dmitry Bulykin, a former striker of the Russian national team, shared his opinion with Izvestia. — Under the conditions of such pressure and not the longest bench, conceding the first goal and not scoring a penalty, the team managed to turn the tide of the meeting in their favor. Moreover, this is the second time they have won a strong—willed victory - before that there was a match with Spartak. And if you remember that Krasnodar had left before that and left the defeat from Baltika at the last minute, you can talk about a real champion character. It's not a fact that this will avoid misfires in the last three rounds and bring the matter to the second gold in a row, but such endings of matches should create a positive emotional background that can help keep the first place.

No wonder they "bullied": Krasnodar regained its leadership in the RPL

A strong-willed victory over Spartak and a misfire from Zenit brought the Southerners closer to the second championship.

Zenit – Akhmat

A week earlier, Zenit came out on top in the championship after the Bulls drew 1-1 at home with Baltika. But in the middle of the week, the St. Petersburg club misfired, failing to beat Lokomotiv 1-1. A day later, Krasnodar snatched an away victory from Spartak Moscow (2:1) and regained the lead.

On April 26, Zenit played against Akhmat immediately after the rival defeated Dynamo Makhachkala. Sergei Semak's team had to beat Grozny to stay in the race for gold. And they solved this task surprisingly easily, despite the fact that the Chechen club is one of the strongest RPL teams this spring.

But Stanislav Cherchesov's men conceded two goals pretty quickly. By the 12th minute, Alexander Sobolev and Luis Enrique scored goals for the visitors. Zenit controlled the game for most of the remaining playing time and confidently brought the meeting to victory.

Also last weekend, five more matches took place in the 27th round. The third-placed Lokomotiv lost away to Krylia Sovetov (0:2) and allowed Spartak to get closer to itself, which won an away victory over Pari Nizhny Novgorod (2:1). Now the red and white are one point behind the Railwaymen, and the fight for the bronze medal is escalating.

So far, CSKA cannot join it, having drawn away with Rubin (0:0). The Army team cannot win three matches in a row and are four points behind Loko. Orenburg scored an important away victory over Rostov (1-0). Dynamo Moscow won at home against the last-placed Sochi (2-0), which is six points behind the transition zone and may finally lose its chances of escaping relegation in the next round.

The tour will end on April 27 with the Baltika vs Akron match. In case of victory, Kaliningrad will catch up with Loko.