On par with Mbappé and Neymar.

So far the only thing in which Russian clubs can compete with European ones is the performance of their strikers. After the outflow of foreign players, the number of goals in matches RPL skipped, in the 13th round the teams had almost broken through the half of the seasonal average (637 and 639 in the two previous championships, 301 in the current one). It so happened that the quality players who decided to stay now started scoring even more often. As a result, a pair of Spartak forwards Alexander Sobolev and Quincy Promes are among the top three most productive attacking duos in the top 10 European leagues.

Break the flow of matches

“Spartak” with a huge move rushes behind “Zenith” and loses points to the minimum: the red and white have started to win where they should have. Even in fights where the result is hard. At this time, you can remember 4 matches with a similar scenario: against Krasnodar, Sochi, Lokomotiv and Krylya Sovetov. Both the southern teams and the Samarans did not hesitate to put pressure on them, creating sharpness at the doors of the Muscovites and having a chance for success.

And if Roman Zobnin’s first goal helped against Krasnodar, in other matches the influence of the Sobolev-Promes duo is great. The match against Sochi was the toughest due to the loss of Victor Moses. “Spartak” was left without strong “tens” and vanished in the first half. The guests were sharper, more harmonious, more combined. It was Promes who opened the scoring, after which the match was back on track (as a result, Quincy scored twice).

The main creator of the victory over Lokomotiv is Sobolev, who scored the only goal. He threw Kerzhakov in the eighth round RPL against Zenit and gave the Muscovites the lead (not everyone can score such a goal, even if Spartak lost).
A very recent example is the match against Krylia. The Samarans fought Guillermo Abascal’s team – more often they went to interception, selection, authorizations. Wards of Igor Osinkin took the lead and had no intention of doing so. Promes’ goal at the end of the first half in such conditions is the factor that allowed Spartak to take the initiative.

Without these two the red and white, in place of the well-deserved third line, would have ended up in place of Dinamo.

Don’t pull the blanket on yourself

It is difficult to combine two different players in a group of forwards, Abascal has changed the functionality of both.
Sobolev of the A-pillar was retrained as a forwarder. The heat map in most matches shows Alexander moving to the right wing. He started dribbling more often and getting the ball into the last third. Promes remains at the forefront, although his role is not limited to completion.

The versatility of the Dutchman is also noted by the Spanish coach of Spartak:He reads the game well and can appear anywhere on the pitch. Of course, it is more dangerous in front of the door. But it can also be on the edge and take away the opponents, freeing the center. It all depends on how the game develops. “

This quality of the exterior is still evident today. The team becomes a “chameleon”, as Guillermo wanted: the schemes change with the “rhombus”, three defenders and the standard 4-3-3. With the “Wings” Quincy played in the position of “ten”. In the future, this feature will only develop.

Forwarders help

Yet without a midfield in our time anywhere. Due to the injuries of Moses, Ignatov and Martins, the center of the Spartak field is not so reliable. But an injury to Umyarov opens up a support zone for Ruslan Litvinov: in this position he works better than Nail.

It remains at the disposal of Abaskal and Daniil Prutsev. The 22-year-old midfielder does not spoil the big picture, but for some reason the coach deprived him of playing practice. In the last four meetings Daniil appears constantly at the beginning. You can talk about the depth of the club bench: with him the loss of Martins is not so fatal.

The search for the tip of the “rhombus” continues. Moving Promes here is a forced decision, while there is neither Ignatov nor Moses. And it would be better to use other schemes for this time (there are options already). Even with a trio of midfielders, Quincy can get down for the ball, and Prutsev himself can give assists.

In the company of Barça, City, Bayern and PSG

Well, the brightest moment: in terms of the number of goals, the Promes-Sobolev group leaves Lewandowski and Dembele of Barcelona (14 goals), Sane and Musiala of Bayern (13 goals). Only the Mbappe-Neymar pair is better in performance (PSG, 20 goals) and Holland-Foden (Manchester City, 27 goals). But there is nothing surprising here: these are aliens who easily break their leagues.

With their exception, the top list includes players from two other Russian Premier League teams – Zenit and Sochi.
The Petersburgers are represented by Malcolm and Wendel (14 goals). Brazilians and in the former RPL they were in starring roles, and now they can accomplish the same thing by a clear margin. Like Promes and Sobolev, attacking blue-white-blue players don’t pull the blanket at each other. Yes, they dribble, they actively move on the pitch, but this is only an advantage for the team. And while Cassierra dozes, and Sergeev appears less often on the pitch, it is Malcolm (sometimes Wendel) the main finalizer of the club’s attacks from the banks of the Neva.

In the sagging Sochi, Christian Noboa and the second scorer of the southerners, Georgy Melkadze, take almost all the goals at their own expense. In the future, the place of the latter should be taken by Vladislav Sarveli, but the Ecuadorian is indispensable: it is not for nothing that they have not let him go to the best clubs this summer.