Moscow “Spartak” lost at home to “Rostov” in the first match of the first round of the FONBET playoffs of the Russian Cup of the RPL Path. Before the break, the hosts failed to take a penalty, but their opponents coped with this task in the second half.

The Spartak star was eclipsed by the goalkeeper from Tajikistan

If at the group stage Dejan Stankovic often fielded an openly second team, then in the first match of the playoffs almost all the main players took to the field. The only exceptions were Selikhov, Duarte and Nicholson, who receive much fewer minutes in the championship. Therefore, even without Maksimenko, Babich and Ugalde, “Spartak” by name looked as solid as possible.

Valery Karpin chose the same approach, who made targeted changes compared to the recent game in the RPL. The only reservist to start was 20-year-old fullback Ilya Zhbanov.

This season, the teams managed to play within the championship: exactly a month ago, Spartak defeated the Rostovites on their field with a score of 3:0. Taking into account the major defeat of Rostov (1:5) at home last spring, the cup match for Karpin and his team was doubly important.

Eight goals conceded in the previous two matches against the “red-whites” forced Karpin to primarily focus on defense. The Rostovites chose the most cautious tactics, implying an abundance of minor and other fouls. Before the break, the guests managed to break the rules eight times and earn three warnings. Rostov’s favorite pressing was also present and forced Selikhov to make mistakes a couple of times, but this did not lead to serious consequences for the hosts.

Spartak was not much different from its opponent in terms of creating chances. The game mainly took place in the center of the field, and both goalkeepers had little work to do. The key episode of the half happened at the very end, when Rostov defender Melekhin dropped Nicholson in his own penalty area. The main referee of the match, Vasily Kazartsev, did not see a violation of the rules, but after the intervention of VAR he changed his decision and pointed to the spot. The red-and-whites’ regular penalty taker Ezequiel Barco approached the ball, having converted five previous attempts. This time, Yatimov’s magnificent jump prevented the Argentine from distinguishing himself.

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Mohebbi missed his penalty

After the break the game became noticeably more fun. During the first five minutes, the guests had several opportunities to open an account. At first, Kuchaev was unable to beat Selikhov at close range, but Glebov, who arrived in time to finish, fired over the crossbar. A little later, Komlichenko had a chance to score, but his shot was blocked by a defender at the last moment.

Such activity on the part of the Rostovites invigorated the hosts, who also managed to create a couple of dangerous moments. The closest to success was Theo Bongonda, the author of the winning goals in Spartak’s last two meetings, who failed to hit the target from a lethal position.

As a result, Rostov managed to remove one of the zeros on the scoreboard. After the corner kick, Umyarov stepped on Bayramyan’s foot. Kazartsev again missed the chance, but the referee on VAR came to his rescue, as in the first half. Mohebbi, unlike Barco, did not miss from the point.

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Spartak had more than 20 minutes left to correct the situation, but the game for the hosts with the score 0:1 completely went wrong. In a critical situation, Stankovic’s team failed to offer their opponents unsolvable tasks. The players who came on as substitutes could not turn the tide of the meeting: Willian Jose, Zinkovsky, Medina and others were not particularly memorable. In addition to all the troubles, at the very end, Spartak managed to remain in the minority after Ryabchuk’s flagrant foul on Komarov.

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“Rostov” confidently brought the game to victory: Karpin’s team managed to beat “Spartak” for the first time in five matches. After this result, Stankovic’s chances for the title this season have sharply decreased. The chance to fix everything will be in the return match, which will take place in Rostov-on-Don on November 27.

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