It should be noted that Lokomotiv managed to prepare the field at the Russian Railways Arena, taking into account the weather conditions. The club found the optimal solution, which they didn’t think of at VEB Arena and Kaliningrad – they installed film. This allowed the field to be kept in good condition, and as a result the teams demonstrated good quality of play.

Moving on to the match, I can say that I had concerns about Lokomotiv’s game without Barinov. But it turned out that nothing terrible happened – Mitai successfully replaced his partner, although he does not have much experience in the support zone. I would also note that the railway workers were not afraid to play against Zenit with two central defenders, while the opponent preferred to play with three central defense players.

Zenit was serious. The players understood that a misfire could cost them their leadership. “Lokomotiv” solved its problems, and everything was in order with the mood. Here, not only the coach, but also Artem Dzyuba could find the right words for his teammates. But in the first half, the capital’s team still looked worse.

Of course, Zenit was unlucky that Kerzhakov made such a mistake. In our time, a defender was placed at the near post; in such a situation, he would simply knock the ball away. When Semak’s team misses an early goal, the game becomes more interesting. The guests got involved, had a lot of possession, had chances, and ended up scoring before the break. Or they could even have taken the lead if Erakovic had hit it from a killer position. Perhaps this was the key moment, otherwise the game would have gone differently in the second half.

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After the break, Lokomotiv straightened out the situation; the opponent no longer had such a big advantage. And then he took the lead again, converting the set-piece. A beautiful goal, but there was also an element of luck involved. After that, the team defended in an organized manner. It seemed that Zenit was hitting a wall. Nothing worked out for them, not a single moment after which it was possible to score. But the railwaymen, as a result of a good combination, distinguished themselves once again.

We can say that Semak’s team is failing at the end of the calendar year. If we take the last month, we couldn’t beat Krasnodar on our home field, we lost to Neftchi in a friendly game, to Dynamo in the Cup, and now to Lokomotiv in the championship. Three defeats in a month is a lot for Zenit.

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