Krasnodar – Zenit (0:1)

I think this is a very disappointing defeat for Krasnodar. For 70 minutes they resisted Zenith great. They even managed to move the game away from their goal and move the fight to the center of the field. The Petersburgers did not turn on their maximum speeds and did not move the ball as fast as they could. In the first half, none of the teams had clear scoring chances.

After the break, Zenit picked up the pace and soon took over the advantage. After the 70th minute, the players of Sergei Semak literally drove the “bulls” into the penalty area. At the same time, they did not just load, but played smart combinations. After one of these combinations, they managed to earn a decisive penalty.

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On the one hand, Krasnodar was lucky, they could fight back. On the other hand, Zenit should have scored without a penalty. This season, the Petersburgers have two types of matches: either they smash the opponent from the very beginning, or squeeze tired opponents in the end due to the advantage in the class and the length of the bench. This time we saw the second option.

Spartak — Torpedo (1:0)

Initially, it was clear that Torpedo would close. Even Talalaev hinted at this before the game. It is understandable: the car factory does not even have a resource to impose its game on Spartak. But the teams of this coach have always been able to close. Talalaev always danced from the stove: he built up defense by fighting, pressing, securing, and in attack he counted on the individual qualities of the forwards.

The problem is that in Torpedo he does not have great players in front – hence the complete lack of counterplay. Therefore, it is not surprising that Spartak, which is now on the move, eventually achieved its goal. Moreover, the goal scored was born from a not-so-obvious moment, partly Quincy Promes was lucky with the rebound.

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Anton Zinkovsky again did not start, but while Spartak is winning, what questions can there be for Abaskal? Apparently, the Spaniard does not want to change the winning team. Good is not sought from good.