They are already laughing at the situation in Loko. And there is only one point to the joint zone.
In one of the main matches of the tour, Spartak with Abaskal showed that the club is on the right track. It’s nice to watch the Red-and-Whites play, and circus performances continue in Lokomotiv. How much more are they willing to endure a German coach?
Spartak and Loko after two defeats in a row
Spartak and Lokomotiv approached the head-to-head meeting, to put it mildly, not in the best psychological state. In the RPL, both clubs have lost their last two matches. Yes, after that they had victories in the Russian Cup, but it hardly changed anything drastically. It is clear that the main focus of the team is on the national championship.
Loko’s German coach Josef Zinnbauer is in the most critical position. The club is located one point away from the play-off zone, which, of course, cannot satisfy the ambitions of one of the leaders of Russian football. And it’s better to keep silent about the dissatisfaction of the fans. Another defeat could have condemned Zinnbauer’s work at Lokomotiv.
Guillermo Abascal can still feel much more comfortable, despite the failures in recent rounds. In addition, the Red-Whites lost not to anyone, but to Zenit and Rostov, the teams that occupy the first two lines in the standings. At the beginning of the season, Spartak was predicted to almost fight with Zenit for the championship title. Perhaps it was too early to distribute such advances, but at the same time, one cannot but admit that the game of Muscovites has really changed under the new coach.
Zinnbauer took a chance, Abascal put two battering rams
The composition of Spartak was surprised mainly by the fact that Abaskal released two forwards from the first minutes at once – Alexander Sobolev and Shamar Nicholson. Former Lazio and Monaco star Keita Balde, as we remember, got into a doping scandal and will not be able to help the red-whites until winter. For a long time, Victor Moses, who was seriously injured, also dropped out of the squad.
Zinnbauer put up a rather strange composition. In fact, he copied the combination of players who played this week in the Russian Cup. And in this tournament, as a rule, coaches release a lot of reservists in the early stages. The German coach of Loko, apparently, decided that if these guys beat Krasnodar in the Cup, then they would beat Spartak in the championship. So Anton Miranchuk, Ivan Ignatiev, Dmitry Zhivoglyadov, Stanislav Makgeev remained in the reserve. Zinnbauer was clearly taking risks trying to save his RPL career.
Spartak dominated
Spartak created three good chances in the first 5-7 minutes. Two of them were with Shamar Nicholson. At first, he hit his head well, and then he actually ran one on one with the young talent of Lokomotiv Daniil Khudyakov, but he hesitated with the blow. Nice trick in Loko’s penalty area by Quincy Promes, but could not complete it with something productive.
Zinnbauer’s team began to recover only by the 10th minute of the first half. Loko took possession of the ball, but categorically could not create anything sensible at the other’s goal. It all looked very cool. But “Spartak” continued to be carried away in fast attacks. Sobolev famously beat the opponent’s defender on the penalty line and was ready to put the ball into the corner, but a timely tackle from Loko’s player saved the day.
By the 20th minute, the advantage of the “red-whites” had become so great that there was a feeling that we were watching the match “Barcelona” – “Elche”. The ball constantly bounced off the Lokomotiv players, they could not get out of the defense normally, and Spartak pressed harder and harder. In the middle of the half, Nicholson missed another sure moment. The Jamaican now definitely needs to show himself while Keita Balde is serving his suspension.
Balde Keita / Photo: ©
FC SpartakSobolev performed beautifully
It is curious that all Loko’s attempts to attack went through the Brazilian newcomer Pedro Gabriel, the same Pedrinho. It is immediately clear that this guy is very technical, but his efficiency was about zero in the first 30 minutes. In the meantime, the game has gone silent. Either Spartak took a break, or Lokomotiv still managed to wake up. It soon turned out that it was still the first option.
At the 35th minute of the first half, Loko defender Mampassi made a wild return in his own half. The Red-Whites quickly played a combination, the ball came to Sobolev, who famously turned around and sent the ball into the far corner of Khudyakov’s goal – 1:0. Absolutely deserved result of this segment of the derby. When the camera showed Zinnbauer, the German looked doomed. He did not understand what was happening on the field, but he clearly understood what another defeat could lead to.
Literally three minutes later, Nicholson had a very similar moment, but unlike Sobolev, the Jamaican slightly missed the far corner. But it should have been 2:0. Lokomotiv was frankly lucky that the first half ended with a minimal advantage for Spartak. Everything could be much worse.
The weak-willed game “Loco”. Zinnbauer – out?
Zinnbauer had to change something during the break, if, of course, he wants to keep his post in the Moscow club. Loko had Anton Miranchuk and Mario Mitai in the second half instead of Francois Camano and Girano Kerk. And the “red-green” really began to look kinder. First, Dmitry Barinov scored well on Selikhov’s goal, and then Lokomotiv was obliged to even the score. Isidor was brought to an excellent position in the penalty area of Spartak, but Selikhov was impeccable.
Abascal saw that the game did not go according to his scenario and released Anton Zinkovsky on the field to add activity in the attack. And Nicholson, who could finish everything in the first half, went to rest. Loko, in an attempt to win back, freed up large areas for the opponent, and for Abaskal’s team, this is a real paradise.
In the 70th minute, a miraculous save was made by Lokomotiv goalkeeper Khudyakov, who parried Umyarov’s shot. Literally in the next attack, Sobolev was supposed to score, but instead of finishing the dangerous moment, for some reason he raised his hands up and began to demand a penalty. Zinnbauer released Ivan Ignatiev for the last 15 minutes, who scored three goals against Orenburg.
Nevertheless, neither one nor any other of the Loko players managed to create a single worthy moment at the Selikhov goal in the end. Spartak won a well-deserved victory and continues to fight for a place in the top three. But for Zinnbauer, this meeting may be the last as the head coach of Lokomotiv. Josef – out? His team completely mediocre lost to Spartak in the derby. Although the team’s management has long taught us that from the “red-green” in this sense, you can expect any surprises.
