Never hit the target of someone else’s gate.
He played two away defeats
Zenit could lose against Khimki. He could give in to Akhmat. The class of footballers made it possible to win twice. He led against Juran’s team. He could upset Talalaev at the last second. Akhmat’s coach showed emotions in vain in the last round. It must be borne in mind that the home game against Zenit was further ahead. The owners didn’t have enough mentor on the edge.
Berisha’s attempts to create a team and the public didn’t work out. As well as Rodrigao’s answer. He is the only one who has tried to bring Zenit back into play. If Semak lost twice in the fourth round, he could popularly explain two things to the team. The first – even if the main competitor of St. Petersburg is Zenit himself, a RPL must be treated with respect.
The second important thing is that the away match has long been a problem for Zenit. This is a chronic disease. The team seems replaced if the opponent shows not class, not tactical preparation, but character. “Akhmat” tried, for the efforts he received a red card for Odoevsky. The goalkeeper’s stupid exit away from the gate led to a tough opponent’s match, the referee is right.
But the episode with Troshechkin’s confrontation against Barrios causes referee Ivanov to be reprimanded. Alexander was able to show not a yellow card, but a red card, because gross fouls in situations where one can act differently, with the risk of injury, are the reason for the violent reaction of the referee. The judge was stunned. But this does not cancel the conversation about the distant “Zenith” state.
The team remained with the ball until Odoevsky was sent off – 0 shots on goal. Lots of cross-gears, little sense. And he was not running in the minority. For the third time in the past decade, RPL The Petersburgers don’t have a single shot on goal. Spartak, despite being in the minority also in Grozny, managed to recover. And Semak saw his suffering formidable champions.
The absence of a leader on the field was affected once again
Semak better lose twice before facing CSKA and Spartak. Both current leaders RPL overall weaker. Yes, the “soldiers” have conflicting halves. Yes, the “red-whites” have problems in defense, which were vividly presented in St. Petersburg. But Abaskal and Fedotov are developing their teams, you can see the dynamics, correct mistakes, CSKA bought more players to develop.
What is Zenit doing? Collected gifts Spartak, Wings of the Soviets and Lokomotiv. But weren’t there difficult stretches against two Moscow clubs? The Super Bowl final on neutral ground could certainly have gone differently. Only in St. Petersburg, “Spartak” was so scared that he dropped four balls after five shots on goal. There would be no pressure on the neutral field.
Krylya Sovetov gave the champions two penalties, losing by two goals in the twelfth minute. Sure, the game could be over. Finally, Lokomotiv held out for an hour of play. Without Wendel’s goal, that fight would hardly have led Semak to a defeat with a five-goal difference. So it turns out that there are two sides to the champion of the favorite RPL.
On one there is the full recognition of total individual superiority, with which we are not even discussing now. On the other hand, there are three unstable goalkeepers at the same time. Another captain Lovren, too lazy to play on the edge, but doesn’t want to lose money. A horde of Brazilians, among whom, and it was warned in advance, there is no leader. Only Rodrigao has the character of a person who knows how to “push”.
Previously, Shirokov, Zyryanov and Timoshchuk were in office. Even Arshavin and Danny, while not examples of players ideally focused on their development, have felt these fights much better. Claudinho, Malcolm or Cassierra just go with the flow. Zenith lost morally to Akhmat. And if Agalarov had hit the ball after a nice cross, they would have caused a sensation.
The origin of the intrigues depends on the Muscovites
Last season there were also meetings in which Semak deserved to lose three points. But they have often been lucky. Luck damaged the team. Although now the main blow is linked to the absence of the Champions League. Naive experts will tell you that this is good for Zenit. Like, more rest. And the rationalists will remember that there will be a group stage of the Cup, and then the playoffs, where it is impossible to fly on the first attempt.
Many up-and-coming competitors will have some extra opportunities to explore Zenit that weren’t available before. The Champions League forced the favorites to plow in training, and now we see the underestimation of the rivals. In the home games the crowd leads, the opponents’ knees are shaking – Zenit showed their high level, smashed all in a row right in the classroom, by a margin.
And it’s worth being away – and already a completely different kick. They stand up, often with passes, press badly, make mistakes in defense. If such a “Zenith”, as in Grozny, met the “Spartak” of today and CSKA, then received a well-deserved defeat. This does not mean that Abaskal and Fedotov will teach Muscovites to do what they categorically do not know how to play with Zenith to win.
But should Semak think about how to motivate a team full of Brazilians for serious football if they are knocked out of themselves by normal resistance? There will be no Latin Americans, knowing full well how individually stronger than their rivals, to train with the zeal of the Germans. Another mentality, and the Russian “Zenith” has very little left, the locals are struggling.
Chistyakov caught a cold, Kuzyaev was injured, Sergeev was not ready, Bakaev lacked leadership skills. Get a slow guest version of a strong team. Akhmat won 6-0 on shots on goal. Talalaev can blame his boys for poor implementation. And I for not making tactical changes to the majority. Akhmat was able to beat the champion, as well as Khimki, who was not even afraid.
And now a question to all clubs. If Arsenal and Rubin, who flew out RPLbeat Semak when there was still motivation for the European Cup, and Yuran and Talalaev have every right to say that they received a game advantage in segments of matches against the champions, then what is the point of repeating the mistakes of Krylya Sovetov and Lokomotiv, offering affordable football for Zenit?
I wonder how he will play Semak in a week CSKAand a month later lively Spartak. Middle farmers have already shown how to treat a sample that is much higher individually. If the young opponents improve from game to game and the Zenit stops developing, the class difference will be reduced. Just pull your favorite down to collect points.
