Abaskal, Promes and Sobolev beat Semak in the Russian Cup.

About the game “Spartacus”

– Semak has a sense of déjà vu. Zenit lost in Samara, because it sank, like in Grozny or near Moscow, when they escaped from Khimki. Whenever he faced defeat. Whenever the champions have had their moments. But Spartak endured a difficult stretch early in the second half, and then responded. The team, which hadn’t beaten Zenit for a long time, creates clear chances for goals. Rodrigao’s mistake, Sobolev’s fine shot and Rasskazov’s skilful cross pass led to Promes brace and September’s best player goal in RPL.

– Abascal used a 3-4-2-1 like Tedesco and Vanoli. The Spaniard left Khlusevich as a left side, Klassen played on the right. At the heart of the defense were Jikia, Litvinov and Maslov. In the middle of the camp – Zobnin and Umyarov, and Ignatov and Promes supported Sobolev. The forwards changed places, sometimes they called “3-5-2”, sometimes “3-4-3”. It was important for the Spaniard to snatch Zenit’s midfielders from the attackers. He generally succeeded.

– Although Litvinov tried to advance higher to secure the midfielders, after the starting segment he saw Spartak’s flaws in the support zone. The problem has not been solved, there is no person who cleans someone else’s foothold like Barrios in Zenit. Wilmar did not play today, which affected the reaction of the guests to other people’s attacks. Santos has been moved to the center of the field. In between, both teams tried not to linger, betting on vertical passes.

– Abascal used the expeditionary talents of Promes and Sobolev. Unsurprisingly, Alexander was not often seen as cutting edge. The forwards created chances for teammates but failed to upset Ivan quickly. “Zenith” was not only against the Italian “Spartak” scheme, but the young Moscow team could easily play too much. The coach asked the hosts to join the fight and Zenit waited too long. One lesson was not enough.

– Before the game, we talked about the questions that are piling up in Abaskal. Where are the victories in the central matches? We saw the first, although for a long time it looked like there was going to be a draw. But Spartak picked up the pace, started winning rebounds, Promes left. We also praise Sobolev, as well as his coach. We lost the Super Bowl: we scored three goals, we conceded four. He could have lost more at home to Zenit RPL. But today they chose an atypical tactic, they beat Zenit on a draw. For business. He who built the bow has won, from the active beginning through the difficult medium to the catharsis at the end.

Information on the game “Zenith”

– The roster was not spare, only three players – Ivan, Krugovoy and Mantua, could not be brought into the main clip. Chistyakov replaced Lovren and Mostovoy, a grassroots player, came on as a substitute. Sergeev pushed Cassierra into the reserve, Ivan is not a substitute. Mantua could not leave Klassen behind easily, Semak’s entire attack line failed. The replacements didn’t work and the main ones didn’t light up.

– Zenith had no rhythm. Semak saw that his composition did not fit the Spartak scheme. Lovren, who has remained in the warehouse, is also nervous. The champion understood that the Muscovites did not have a clear advantage, but he himself did not play, as he was used to. As a result, Sergeev, Malcolm and Mantua were rarely seen, and Spartak’s pressure dragged Kuzyaev and Wendel away from each other’s gates. Daler found the moment, but hit the post, as Malcolm did later.

– Maksimenko had a decent duel, his calm was transferred to the defenders. Semak’s team approached Spartak’s goal at a slow speed and, as there were ball losses, the hosts’ counter attacks remained important. Without Barrios, it became more difficult to catch Promes and Sobolev. This sentence, written after the first half, was reflected in the end of the game, when it was Quincy and Alexander who scored.

– Last week we had discussions with Kobelev, who called Zenit “a team with no weaknesses”. He also praised the reserve, as if there would be no loss of quality after the substitutions. It is not true. Without Santos and Mostovoy (Claudinho) on the left wing, without Lovren in the center of defense and Barrios in the support zone they saw more or less the same Zenit as Samara. At first glance, Semak’s composition was no weaker than Abaskal’s. In fact, he lost by three goals.

– There will be emphasis on the personal mistakes of Rodrigao or Alip, but it is important not to underestimate the efforts of Spartak. The Muscovites forced the opponent to make mistakes, to reconstruct incorrectly. Semak’s fault for the move to three central, he got scared and made a mistake. The permutations did not work, Zenit released a defender and four players in attack, but nothing changed for the better, they lost with fresh forces on the pitch.

The digital dimension of the duel

1st victory for Spartak in 12 games. It is strange to take into account the success of the Muscovites in sparring with Zenit. Officials haven’t been won since late 2017, nearly five full years. Eleven fights, one of which ended in a 7: 1 pogrom. There was also a removal in the Super Bowl, they stripped Abaskal of the trophy. Angry Jikia rudely answered a question about a bad streak during the break, but the team backed the captain. There is a long-awaited victory.

6: 2 – the difference in shots on goal. The total score on the shots is 9: 4, but the well-aimed attempts were defeated. When there is such a big difference, Semak suffered questions for Wendel, Kuzyaev, Mantua and Malkom. Where were their broadcasts on Sergeev? Cassierra also ran out of easy moments. Neither the standards, nor the long range shots, nor the counterattacks worked for the Zenit. “Spartak” had enough sharpness, he collected a lot of hits from the game.

5 games in a row with Sobolev’s goals. In Spartak, Promes also did not have such a series. Welliton pleased red-white fans with the same carnival in 2011, after which no one picked up anything like that, not even Dzyuba, Ari or Ze Luis. Sobolev, of course, is not brilliant in all matches. But the striker has inspiration, desire to assist his teammates, constantly finds his scoring opportunity.

2nd defeat in 3 games against Zenit. After Samara, they didn’t lose twice in a row, Dynamo helped with their mistakes. But in the cup tournament they proved once again that easy victories will not always be Zenit’s true companions. The champion depends a lot on the key players. Malcolm has no leadership qualities, only skill. Cassierra and Sergeev are not Azmun with Dzyuba. All of this was discussed before the game.

Now let’s take a look at the Rostov attempt in St. Petersburg. The defeat of the Spartak champions changes the lineup for Karpin’s team. If Semak loses the technical duel for the third time in four games, the season will become more interesting.