In early spring, Spartak was eight points ahead of CSKA and was seen as the main favorite in the fight for silver. Over the past months, the situation has unfolded: Spartak began to regularly lose points, and the army team won eight victories in nine matches and once tied.

CSKA not only won back the gap, but also managed to break away from Spartak by four points. It is generally accepted that there are no favorites in the derby, but the results and the game in this segment clearly did not speak in favor of Abascal’s team.

The same “Spartacus”

In the spring, Spartak had many reasons explaining the decline in the standings: injuries and disqualifications of the leading players, the head coach began throwing in terms of tactics. Fortunately for Abaskal, all the leaders were in line for the match with CSKA. The coach himself returned to the arrangement with two central defenders, and this time he sent Litvinov to his favorite position in midfield.

In the first half, fragments could be seen of the same Spartak, which deserved so many laudatory words in the fall. The hosts combined well in the opponent’s half, often getting operational space. More than once, the defenders of the army found themselves in a dangerous situation one on one with representatives of the Spartak attack group.

However, it did not reach the really dangerous moments for a long time. Only in the middle of the half, Spartak managed to play a cool combination, which ended with Ignatov going one on one with Akinfeev. The striker skillfully dealt with the goalkeeper, but the joy of the Red-and-White fans did not last long. Sergei Karasev recorded offside, although the moment looked far from unambiguous on replays.

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Akinfeev’s magic throw and a repeat of the record from Promes

CSKA very soon responded to the canceled goal of Spartak with its own. And again, it turned out to be in some millimeters. Zabolotny’s foot was one step closer to someone else’s gate than Jikia’s.

In general, the equal course of the first half was broken by Igor Akinfeev. The goalkeeper of the army this season is not the first time he showed himself as a dispatcher. The goalkeeper found Chalov in someone else’s penalty area with a long-range throw, who dropped the ball to Jesus Medina. Akinfeev for the fifth time this season took part in the scoring combination of his team.

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Spartak once again missed the first this season, but the Abascal team managed to establish itself as the most strong-willed in the entire RPL. In previous matches, the rivals of the “red-whites” opened the score 12 times, but only three times brought the matter to victory.

So this time, the Spartacists managed to show character, and did it before the break. At first, Ignatov almost took advantage of the fall of Medina in his penalty area. And a couple of minutes later, Quincy Promes hit his head at point-blank range after Zinkovsky’s cool pass. Akinfeev had no chance to save his team.

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Thanks to this goal, Promes caught up with the Spartak legend Yegor Titov in terms of the number of goals for the club in the Russian championship – 87. At the same time, the Dutch striker played almost half as many matches.

Sobolev vs Rocha

After the break, the teams continued to play almost without the center of the field. There were fewer dangerous moments, but there were enough rudeness and skirmishes. The main headliners in this regard were Willian Rocha and Alexander Sobolev. At first, this couple huddled in the penalty area of ​​the army, but without consequences for themselves in the form of cards.

As a result, Sobolev could not control his nerves and, after another martial art, he made a boorish gesture towards the Brazilian. For some reason, the attacker unequivocally reminded the opponent of his primary sexual characteristics, clutching his groin with his hands.

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Such disrespect towards an opponent in the history of the derby is not easy to remember. In this situation, the red card Sobolev was not in doubt, but at first it was not clear why Karasev sent off and Rosh. Only on replay did it become clear that the defender, appealing to the linesman, repeated Sobolev’s gesture. Probably, the chief arbitrator considered such behavior also unacceptable.

fiery ending

In the ten-on-ten format, the game took on a ragged character. Spartak attacked more often, and as a result, on the second attempt, they earned a penalty in the very end.

First, after the junction of Zobnin and Diveev in the penalty area of ​​CSKA, Karasev went to watch the replay and came to the conclusion that the defender played cleanly. But the guests still could not avoid a penalty in their own net. The chief referee spotted a foul on the part of Mendez, who, according to Karasev, knocked down Moses. Promes approached the point, with the blow of which Akinfeev managed, but now he could not do anything against finishing. Promes became Spartak’s record for goals for the club in the Russian Championship – 88.

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Thanks to this victory, Spartak reduced the gap from CSKA to one point. The fate of the second place, which Rostov also claims, will most likely be decided only in the last round.

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Live broadcast of the game is available on Match TV and MATCH PREMIER TV channels, as well as on matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru websites.