“Spartak” approached the finish line of the first round against the backdrop of another mini-crisis. In the previous five rounds, the “red-whites” managed to win only one victory. The meeting with Rostov seemed like a good opportunity to go on a two-week break in a good mood. If successful, the Spartak team came close to the top three.

Rostov, after a series of failures at the beginning of the season, managed to straighten out the game: in the last three matches, Valery Karpin’s team scored seven points. The excellent statistics in the games against Spartak in the previous two seasons should have added to the mood of the Rostovites: two wins and two draws.

Abaskal sarcastically heard about Sobolev

Guillermo Abascal in this meeting did not stray from the tradition of surprises in the starting lineup. If Sobolev being on the bench in recent matches has already become customary, then the choice in favor of Zobnin in the right-back position did not seem obvious. The nominal midfielder replaced the disqualified Khlusevich in defense. Central defender Srdjan Babic missed the second game in a row, but this time he was out of the lineup due to a cold.

In a pre-match interview, Abascal nervously responded to the question about the absence of Sobolev from the squad, who remained on the bench for the third time in the last four matches: “Why Promes and not Sobolev? Because it’s raining and the sun isn’t shining.” As a result, the attacking group again consisted of Medina, Zinkovsky, Ignatov and Promes.

The Promes-Ignatov pairing crushed Rostov

Sobolev probably watched the game’s debut with conflicting feelings. On the one hand, he should have been happy for his partners, on the other, without him, Spartak played its best offensive period in a long time. In the first minutes, the hosts overwhelmed Rostov with speed and activity, against which the guests had no counterarguments.

At the beginning of the meeting, Spartak had the Promes-Ignatov pair leading the way, scoring the first goal in the fourth minute. The Dutchman found his partner with a pass in someone else’s penalty area, and the Russian clearly shot under Pesyakov’s supporting foot.

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The first goal only provoked the hosts, who continued to move forward. The motivated Spartak players were good in their own right, but then their opponent gave them a gift. Rostov was let down by their desire to escape from high pressure through a short pass. Pesyakov’s inaccurate pass very quickly provoked the second goal. This time Ignatov acted as an assistant, and Promes scored the goal.

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It cannot be said that Rostov looked hopeless. The guests’ mood was also fine; they were also looking for happiness in attack, but in the final stage there were big problems with accuracy. The Rostovites definitely scored one goal in the first half: Mokhebi, Bayramyan and Utkin were close to success, who were a little unlucky each time.

“Spartak” was not without adventures

Immediately after the break, Karpin made three changes, bringing on Mironov, Chernov and Komlichenko. This did not greatly affect the nature of the game: even with a two-goal advantage, Spartak did not slow down and staged a whole festival of corner kicks at the opponent’s goal. However, Abascal’s team has big problems with this element this season, because in the first round not a single one of them ended with a goal.

Rostov’s bet on a quick comeback in the second half ultimately did not work. The danger at Maksimenko’s goal had almost disappeared: in the first half hour after the break, the visitors created only one real threat when Komlichenko headed just wide of the post. If in the first half Rostov tried to play quick low combinations, then they fell back on crosses, most of which for the time being did not cause problems for Spartak.

Trouble overtook the hosts in the 79th minute, when, after a lofty serve and Komlichenko’s shot, the ball hit Litvinov’s hand. After watching the replay, chief referee Nikolai Levnikov pointed to the spot, and Maxim Osipenko confidently converted the penalty.

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Spartak could not avoid a nervous ending. Abascal succumbed to the wishes of the stands, who loudly demanded the release of Sobolev, but gave Alexander a little more than 10 minutes. The forward’s task was to cling to the ball in front, which he did successfully. Even with a minimum of playing time, Alexander managed to create a chance for himself, but his shot lacked accuracy.

The outcome of the meeting remained unclear until the last minutes. Several times Rostov was close to equalizing the score, but Spartak still managed to maintain the winning score in a difficult game. For the first time since 2018, the “red-whites” managed to beat the Rostov team on their home field. For Abascal, this victory guaranteed a relatively calm two weeks. Talk of his possible resignation should now subside.