Zenit entered the match with CSKA in the status of a favorite, but already in the first minutes of the game it created problems for itself out of the blue. “CSKA” forced the opponent to snuggle up to their gates and provoked the team’s goalkeeper Mikhail Kerzhakov to make a mistake.

Anton Zabolotny did not spare the former team.

Underestimation of the situation

In the central game of the seventh round of the MIR of the Russian Premier League, CSKA hosted Zenit. The main attention of the press and fans before the match was riveted to Mario Fernandez, the ex-player of the “soldiers” who moved to the camp of a principled rival in the summer. However, the main character at the beginning of the meeting was another “defector” – the former Zenit Anton Zabolotny. The striker became the author of the first goal, although he managed to score not without help from the opponent.

In the fourth minute of the match, Zenit controlled the ball in their own half of the field. Vilmar Barrios, Claudinho and Nuraly Alip, being under pressure from the opponent, still could not find a suitable option for a quick transition to attacking actions. After a series of passes not far from their own penalty box, the field players of the St. Petersburg team decided to play through the goalkeeper.

Mikhail Kerzhakov was also under pressure, but did not seem too embarrassed when he received the ball. The goalkeeper probably planned to turn around and give the pass to the right flank. However, Kerzhakov did not act too quickly, as if he did not believe in the possibility of a daring trick on the part of the opponent. The underestimation of the situation played a cruel joke on the goalkeeper: while the Zenit player was turning around and preparing the transfer, Zabolotny made a successful tackle and sent the ball into the net.

Open video

The Russian striker has not been a Zenit player for several years, and therefore did not consider it indecent to emotionally celebrate a goal. Rolling on his knees on the lawn, he immediately found himself in a joyful red and blue crowd of CSKA players. Kerzhakov could only swear angrily, primarily at himself, although the share of guilt of the partners who created a dangerous situation out of the blue was present here.

Watch the live broadcast of the game these minutes on the Match TV and MATCH PREMIER channels, as well as on matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru websites.