Zenit proved stronger than Dynamo Moscow on their home field in the central match of the fourth round of the MIR RPL. Maksim Glushenkov extended his goal streak, and Evgeniy Latyshonok became the main hero of the end of the match.

Lichka chose a cautious style

The Saturday game in St. Petersburg could be considered the main event of the summer in the RPL for several reasons. At the end of last season, these two teams were contenders for gold until the last minutes of the final round. They started the new championship without losing any points, with Zenit having a particularly strong start, setting a new record for goal difference after three rounds — 13:0. In addition, for Sergei Semak’s team, the meeting with Dynamo was of fundamental importance after two defeats in the previous season.

The head coach of the “blue-white-blues” predictably did not change the winning lineup, which had crushed Rostov (5:0) a week earlier. The same heroes, led by Maxim Glushenkov, who had approached the start of the season in phenomenal form, had to open up the Dynamo defense.

But Marcel Licka made two changes in the defensive line. The central defender Balbuena, who returned from the Olympics, ousted Lepsky from the lineup. On the left flank, instead of Skopintsev, Laksalt appeared, who mainly plays in the support zone under the Czech coach.

Last season, the teams played two completely different games. In August 2023, Gazprom Arena hosted a fun game with five goals scored and a winning goal by the visitors in stoppage time. At home, Dynamo chose to play more pragmatically, and this plan worked. This time, the Muscovites chose a similar tactic: with a low block in defense and a focus on counterattacks. None of Zenit’s previous opponents could boast such a dense defense.

There was little sharpness at Lunev’s goal before the break, but, as previous matches have shown, Zenit does not need an abundance of scoring chances. In games against Krylia, Rubin and Rostov, Glushenkov and other Zenit players realized even the most unobvious moments.

The hosts had a chance to open the scoring in the first minute, when Karavaev found himself in a scoring position and shot over the target. Glushenkov was close to scoring twice, but first he shot wide of the post and then straight into the goalkeeper’s hands. Erakovic had a good chance. Dynamo players were not inferior to Zenit in the number of shots they made, but the visitors’ attacks were noticeably less sharp. Cautious football ended with a logical score of 0:0 after 45 minutes.

And again Glushenkov!

At the beginning of the second half, Zenit lost Wendel, whose passes Glushenkov had scored most of his goals, due to injury. But the RPL’s top scorer still did not leave the field without a goal. The Russian was brought up to strike by two other Brazilians: Claudino passed the ball to the flank, and Pedro found Glushenkov with a great pass with the outside of his foot, who scored his seventh goal in the championship.

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Having gained an advantage, Zenit preferred to retreat and play according to the score. The hosts gave the ball to the opponent and felt confident in defense. Semak’s team has also been fine with this element of the game this season. The champions acted competently at their goal, but Dynamo still managed to create two real chances to win back. In both cases, Numi Ngamalyo was in the center of attention.

At first, the Cameroonian failed to beat Latyshonok from close range. A little later, a penalty was awarded against Zenit for Barrios’ handball. Ngamaleu had a great chance to save his team from defeat, but the new goalkeeper of the “blue-white-blues” intervened again. Latyshonok pulled the ball out of the corner and maintained his “dry” streak in the championship.

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Dynamo failed to create anything more, suffering its first defeat in the championship. Zenit extended its winning streak and became the sole leader in the table. In the next round, the current champion will play away against Khimki.