Spartak and Krasnodar started the new RPL season with draws. The “Bulls” could not defeat the debutant of the league “Fakel”, and the Muscovites miraculously did not lose to “Akhmat” in the minority. Therefore, it is logical that both teams intended to win at all costs, and Krasnodar even more so, because they were driven by home stands.

Yes, the “red-whites” have more experienced legionnaires, but he won not because of this. The Bulls brought problems to themselves, and the main anti-hero of the match was Alexander Chernikov, who left his partners in the minority in the first half.

And the most interesting thing is that Roman Zobnin was recognized as the hero of the meeting, whom many have already written off.

Alexander Chernikov / Photo: © RIA Novosti / Vitaly Timkiv

Chernikov is the anti-hero of the match

Krasnodar immediately took control of the ball and showed a phenomenal result: by the 20th minute, the percentage of possession was 70/30 in favor of the hosts. And Olakunle Olusegun stood out the most. On quick feet, the 20-year-old Nigerian circled the Spartacists on the right flank, then moved to the center and performed a pass to partners, greatly aggravating the attack. By the way, he also became the author of the first shot on target in the match. But the most interesting began after half an hour of play. Sobolev broke the rules in someone else’s penalty area, but instead of running away from the “crime scene” he began to argue with his rivals and show ugly gestures. It is strange why the referee did not give Sasha a “yellow card” for unsportsmanlike behavior, which, by the way, would have become his second.

In the next few minutes, the key episodes of the half happened. In the 35th minute, Spartak scored from a corner: Chernikov missed Zobnin on a set piece, and Roman freely shot Safonov’s goal. And just a couple of minutes later, Chernikov finally established himself in the status of an anti-hero, got a direct red card. In the last round, the Red-Whites played in the minority from the 41st minute, and now they are in the majority from the 37th.

Photo: © RIA Novosti / Vitaly Timkiv

Uncounted double by Zobnin

In the second half, goals fell like a cornucopia. The half began with a double advantage of Spartak – Quincy Promes coolly figured out the opponent’s penalty area on a pause and hammered the ball into the net, after which he performed an elegant dance. And after seven minutes, Krasnodar scored an own goal, which could well have been written down on Zobnin. The ball after Roman’s hit rolled on target, but Borodin, who ran into the trajectory, made the last touch.

The Bulls did not give up, continued to fight and eventually managed to break the score in the 60th minute. Krasnodar earned a penalty, which was realized by the best player of the team last season, Eduard Spertsyan. But Moses put an end to the match – 4:1.

Despite the defeat, I would like to mention the Nigerian Olusegun in Krasnodar, a real find. And Spartak won a landslide victory, but in the first half, when the teams were even, it didn’t seem at all that the guests would be able to score four goals, rather the opposite. The removal of Chernikov became the key – the guests began to play more relaxed, and Krasnodar did not have enough resources.