Dessert of the day: derby between Lokomotiv and Spartak.
Ural – Rostov (first match – 1: 1)
At first, Gancharenko’s team played better on the road. The ball accidentally hit the Rostov player’s high hand, but the penalty was perfect. Kashtanov’s blow turned out to be cunning. Bikfalvi, Rangelovic and company could extend the lead, but Rostov have enough games in which they withstood the pressure and kept attacking.
Today in Ekaterinburg the losing team will not be eliminated. There is a double elimination system. But either Gancharenko or Karpin will go to the Path of Regions. And there are Zenit and Akhmat. Away there are also Krasnodar, Lokomotiv and even Dynamo, if they lose against Samara. Only one team from this part of the group will play at Luzhniki on 11 June.
Rostov, since they managed to level the score – Komlichenko again closed a nice cross from Utkin, it is worth showing a different football and not conceding a penalty shootout on the road. According to the regulations, in case of equality of indicators in the sum of two matches, there will be no extra time, only penalties. Gancharenko also doesn’t want the lottery, he will try to win in regular time.
Spartak – Lokomotiv (first match – 1:0)
Dziuba made his Lokomotiv debut against his former club. Artyom played during the match after a difficult start for Galaktionov. Spartak, despite the absence of the main forwards at the base – Nicholson, Sobolev and Promes, scored first. Prutsev again upset Lokomotiv, this time in the Cup. Abascal’s team had to put pressure on the opponent until the neighbors came to their senses. But the first half ends 1-0.
Then Dziuba almost leveled the score: he headed the ball into the far corner, but the post played for Maksimenko. And a little later the veteran played a successful rebound, but Artyom hit the goal. Lokomotiv also played segments in the fall, so Magkeev’s goal is not surprising. The defender was in front of everyone, but the judges are right. Kamano actively prevented Martins from entering the serve, and then Bezborodov, at the suggestion of the assistants, attended the replay and canceled the goal.
A draw would not be in favor of Spartak, who saved tough legionnaires in the cold. One of the intrigues before the return match, where 15,000 spectators await, is Abaskal’s position in terms of squad. You can put Tavares, Duarte, Martins and Promes at the start. Or leave the Russian base in the hope that Lokomotiv will not draw any conclusions after the defeat. The intrigue in the pair remains, despite the presence of a favorite.
Dynamo – Krylya Sovetov (first match 1:2)
In Samara he opened a series of three club fights in a row. Jokanovic has Tyukavin and his opponents to thank for not conceding more goals, because the coach played a bad game. Osinkin, although he again lost base players in the winter, such as Pinyaev and Glushenkov, managed to fit Pisarsky into the schemes of the Wings of the Soviets. Vladimir again scored a goal for Dynamo and was not afraid of the favorite.
But if tomorrow the favorite turns on the speed, Soldatenkov and Evgeniev are unlikely to have time to catch all the attacks. Skopintsev and Dasa know how to attack. Fomin and Zakharyan need to be more active, as well as Smolov, because Tyukavin is ready to play on base. We need to recover, because “Spartak” Zuev, who needs a successful segment in his career after a series of difficult moments, brought a home victory to “Wings of the Soviets”.
The hosts saw that the opponent was not running in the cold, he burned out after an active start. Statistically, it turned out to be an even match, in which Dynamo showed the sins of the autumn: controversial decisions in defense, careless play at other people’s goals, arrhythmia and marriage in passing. On the other hand, “Wings of the Soviet” is the same, one half is not like the other.
“Krasnodar” – CSKA (first game 0:3)
The only pair where it is easy to name a team that can become a rival to Zenit. CSKA you have to play the worst game in the last ten years to fly out of Krasnodar. And Ivic will need a miracle in the form of two goals in half an hour against Akinfeev, so that the “citizens” with their colossal problems in defense can win back on the whole. Safonov shouldn’t be conceded, because Fedotov is unlikely to lose 1:4 to have a penalty.
CSKA he can blame himself for the mistakes in the first game. The bill could be much bigger. Krasnodar also had promising approaches, because Muscovites had Diveev and Zainutdinov in the infirmary – the main central defenders. But since the score is devastating and “dry” for Akinfeev, it remains to adequately get back on the road to wait for the winners of the other fights of the Camino in the semifinals RPL. Couples can be interesting.
The new formula of the tournament paid off
If you trust the clubs that are higher in the standings RPLthen in the semifinals of the top of the grid we can see Spartak pairs – CSKA and Dynamo – Rostov. On the other hand, if Ural and Wings of the Soviets, the clubs that have been in the finals of the tournament, go further, the alignment changes. Spartacus and CSKAobviously, they will be rooting against Jokanovic and Karpin, as the middle farmers have fewer assets than the season leaders.
But Pisarsky in future cup matches can score Maksimenko and Akinfeeva, as well as Bikfalvi. Lots to come RPL important. Spartak fans CSKA he would rather have played the final of this Bracket Path than the semi-final. It is worth recognizing that they have introduced an interesting system. It won’t be easy for Zenit or the other formal cup favourites. Especially if Lokomotiv, Ural and Krylya Sovetov go further.
Abaskal, Karpin and Jokanovic may be forced to seek their fortune in a cage with the lions of St. Petersburg, which do not feed on bananas, but let Spartak, Rostov and Dinamo beat them.
