“Zenith crushed them.” Bubnov appreciated the champion’s performance with Krylya Sovetov

There is an opinion that there is no point in having the ball if the team does not score. This is partly true, but there are nuances. The team in possession of the ball has a greater chance of creating scoring chances, and it is also a unique form of defense. You can fight back, or you can just control the ball. When you have it, your opponent won’t be able to score. Plus, it also gives you a psychological advantage, and you get more physically tired when you don’t have the ball.

And when the first half ended with zeros on the scoreboard, it could be noted that the teams were equal in terms of scoring chances. Ivan Sergeev could have scored for Zenit, and Nikita Saltykov for Krylia. But due to the fact that Semak’s team had more possession of the ball, it was they who had the advantage. It was not for nothing that Alexander Soldatenkov said that it was difficult for the Samara team to play without the ball.

But, having superiority, the team from St. Petersburg still could not score because they played slowly. Samara managed to rebuild and create a dense defense. True, it was clear that Krylia Sovetov were playing at the limit, and Zenit was able to add speed and apply even more pressure. And so it happened: Semak’s team added momentum, began to break into the opponent’s defense, and scored three goals. By the way, they could have scored the fourth, but Alexander Erokhin failed to score.

Open video

I can say that the restructuring of the game in attack is beneficial for Zenit. Ivan Sergeev and Mateo Cassier are a powerful tandem; they play much more effectively in pairs than individually. For the “Wings” I can note the performance of goalkeeper Bogdan Ovsyannikov, he helped out in this match. In general, the guests acted tactically correctly, but they simply did not have enough physical strength to resist the champion. When the “blue-white-sky blues” added, the Volga residents simply could not maintain the proposed pace. Zenit simply crushed them.

Watch live broadcasts of MIR RPL matches on the Match TV and MATCH PREMIER TV channels, as well as on the websites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.