Named Player of the Month.
RPL named best player of September. In the fight against Poloz, Mostov, Burmistrov and Vera the award was won by Spartak forward Alexander Sobolev. Until recently, there were questions about him why he scores so little. As a result, Alexander scored in each of the September games, including for the national team. Sobolev’s role in Spartak is changing, as is the game of the team itself. And even so, he finds his moments.
Become a freight forwarder
Abascal does not need a forward post to direct the goalkeeper’s shots. The Spaniard puts a more thoughtful football in red and white. Now the attack develops through a central pass, the goalkeeper often gives in to the defense flanks, shots are hardly ever used. In these conditions, the need for Sobolev could be lost: he initially arrived at Spartak under the football of Domenico Tedesco. The German needed a football player to fight to ride balls.
But there was still a way out. In parallel with the changes in Sobolev’s role, Quincy Promes was also adapted to the needs of the new manager. Now they played as a pair of forwards. The Dutchman became the spearhead of the attacks with a free role (we have described in detail his contribution to the team game in another text).
Alexander, on the other hand, retrained himself as a dispatcher: he could move to the side to receive the ball, pass the opponent in dribble and give him a shot. The fact that the Russian striker will no longer play as before became evident in the duel with the Ural. This is a clear example of the new functionality of him. Goals from both Muscovites came after Sobolev dropped Ivan Kuzmichev on the right wing and gave him a shot. In the first case, Promes himself scored, in the second – Ignatiev, who replaced Mozes.
The heat map also shows the player’s love for the right flank, where he can receive the ball both closer to the center of the pitch and in the last third. And he gives a lot of key passes: Alexander is second after Quincy in this indicator (2.1 per game).
More often it decides on individual skill
After the match against Lokomotiv, Sobolev noted:
They say that Sobolev is a non-technical footballer, but I already have 2 good goals? Well, maybe really non-technical, it just happens. Was the match difficult? The match was difficult, depending on the pace of the game it was such an intense match, I got tired a lot.
However, many individual episodes suggest otherwise. From the protection of Kuzmichev himself in the moment with the first goal for Ural, he freed himself, making the opponent swing and entering the free space. Also, Ivan is a strong defender who was interested in Dynamo but bought Lokomotiv.
Alexander has unlimited functionality: he can go down under Promes and take a second step, sometimes he ends up, advancing on the goalkeeper. With these movements, the attacker distracts the opposing players and creates free space for Quincy. “Zenith” goal in the Cup – one of the examples. Yes, in this episode Rodrigao left his position, but if Sobolev was not close, Nuraly Alip advanced on the Dutchman (as a result, he did just that, however it was already too late).
Score in important games
This fact predetermined victory in the nomination. We are not talking about matches with Fakel or Rostov, although Voronezh’s goal also turned out to be a feast for the eyes.
But in the Moscow derby with Lokomotiv it was possible to collect 3 points thanks to his actions. Sobolev received the ball from Daniil Prutsev in the penalty area, under the tutelage of Nair Tiknizyan – and nevertheless found a way to turn around, approached the goal and scored with a precise shot in the opposite corner.
The goal against Zenit in the eighth round of the Russian Premier League is another indicator of technical talent. Yes, it wasn’t enough for a draw. But he led his team forward. You can talk about luck as much as you want, but Sobolev himself picked up the ball, managed to give it to Martins in the fight against Santos and then dumped Lovren.
And the crown-cup comparison with the blue-white-blue ones. In the 86th minute, Spartak were leading by 1: 0. But this would certainly not be enough: the national champion is able to pull off such matches. But the red and white have staged one last assault. Litvinov and Promes gathered four opposing players around them, Alip took care of Sobolev. The striker of the Muscovites turned his body again and shot right at the target from underneath Nuraly.
Even if we take into account the fact that not all goals are victorious, there is another argument in Alexander’s favor: he scored each of them for a reason. These are not rebounds and naked wrestling, but the rapid adoption of competent decisions.
The love of fans is hampered by the lust for scandals
If it weren’t for Sobolev’s ability to decide the outcome of the episodes, fans would hate him due to the ongoing arguments. Everyone remembers forward photo falls, scandals with opposing players and referees. Alexander’s goal in Krasnodar should have been canceled due to his elbow strike. Before that, he hit Vyacheslav Litvinov in the face (also with an elbow) -John Cordoba pledged to report a foul and the red and white player himself made a face in front of Cordoba.
The situation was well described by the legend of the team from the capital Anzor Kavazashvili:
Sobolev adds, but the psychologists and Spartak executives need a serious conversation with him. Infinitely defy any decision, touch with him. He immediately begins to push the opponent back, climbs into a fight. For this, the club should punish its players with money: he brings nervousness to the behavior of the players on the pitch, he sets a terrible example for the rest. Perhaps then Sobolev will not behave in this way.
Now Spartak are doing well both in terms of play and results, so the 25-year-old striker does without dolphins. But in tough times for the club, it’s pretty annoying that it turns on teammates and fans alike.
