Three defeats in four matches is already a kind of unsuccessful series. “Spartak” was in the black stripe, and the point here is not only that the rivals “red-white” got from the top of the table. The club made a key mistake much earlier.

To understand the reasons for the recent defeats, you need to go back a few months, when the transfer period was in full swing. Then the Spartacist campaign on the market did not raise any special questions, but now it looks, to put it mildly, doubtful.

Guillermo Abascal was not given the most important thing.

Best the enemy of the good

Perhaps the brightest newcomers to Spartak can be considered winger Anton Zinkovsky and forward Keith Balde. The first is a young talent with a Russian passport who can do almost everything on the field. The second is an attacking all-rounder with speed, dribbling and rich international experience. Now, no defense will stand!

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However, it is not without reason that they say that the best is the enemy of the good. Spartak’s attack was already the strongest line in the team. Promes, Sobolev, Nicholson, Ignatov, Moses are the most powerful players by the standards of the RPL. So it turns out that with the advent of newcomers, nothing really has changed. Zinkovsky has not yet become the main one, and Balde obviously did not come in the best conditions. Here Abascal trusts the old guard.

It is clear that, looking at the “Zenith”, “Spartak” wants to measure the attacking power with the Petersburgers. But attack, as you know, wins matches, and defense wins titles. And in this sense, the transfer campaign of the “red-whites” turned out to be a failure.

Late realized

Back in the spring, Spartak lost left-back Ayrton, and then the club also left the pillar of defense, Samuel Gigot. In such a situation, it would be logical to try to replace these players with someone. And the leadership of the “red-whites” tried – at least in part. In place of the Brazilian, for example, they took Maciej Rybus. And what, a free agent, knows the Russian championship well … But you won’t be fed up with Rybus alone, especially since the Pole is clearly not the same anymore. What is worth one only triple bringing in a match with “Rostov”!

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The central defender was not taken care of at all. Yes, there is Nikita Chernov, there is his own pupil Ruslan Litvinov. But only Giorgi Jikia at the moment can be considered a truly great defensive player. On the last day of the transfer window, the club caught on and wrote out 32-year-old Miha Mevlu from Antalyaspor, who has not played a single match this season. Whether the Slovenian will be able to solve the problems of Abaskal is a big question.

In fact, Spartak simply ignored all the important positions on which the game of any team is based. In addition to the defenders, the Red-Whites needed a defensive midfielder, but the club limited itself to buying Martins Pereira from the Young Boys. The Luxembourger looked good before the injury, but still often played closer to the attack. But Spartak didn’t have a real breakwater, and still doesn’t.

– I don’t understand Balde’s transfer. Nicholson didn’t leave. And in general, Spartak needs a defensive midfielder, and they take an attacker. This is sabotage,” agent Timur Gurtskaya said in an interview with “Championship”.

Where is the solution?

If with weaker opponents Spartak had enough performance skills of the attacking players, then with the teams from the leading group it no longer works. At the same time, it is also impossible to say that the “red-whites” were unlucky. In all lost meetings (as well as in a draw match with Akhmat) they lost to their opponent in xG. There is no organized defense – there is no attack.

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It turns out that today Spartak is suffering because of its own stupid transfers. This is where Abaskal’s coaching talent should show up (if, of course, he has it). In future meetings, the Spaniard will have to somehow rebuild his game model in order to minimize damage. Or hope that Mevlya will remember his golden years in the RPL and miraculously solve all problems.