The match “Dynamo” – “Spartak” was opened by the musician Valery Syutkin, and I wanted to believe that the meeting would turn out to be as groovy as his rock and roll rhythms. Expectations were justified by one hundred percent. The teams played at the highest speeds and gave out a fiery derby.

It’s a pity that not many goals were scored in the end. But the game unexpectedly formed an additional plot with references to the Cup of Russia. The main character was Nail Umyarov, who made an unfortunate mistake and interrupted Spartak’s winning streak.

Karma or coincidence?

Ownership doesn’t solve anything.

In the first half, Spartak played as a favorite. The “Red-Whites” pressed in every part of the field and had the ball about 70% of the time. It was clear that Guillermo Abascal’s team was charged to win as much as possible and wanted to keep the lead at all costs. The main task of Dynamo in this situation was to contain the opponent’s midline. Slavisa Jokanovic spoke about this before the game.

However, it is unlikely that the Serbian specialist could have imagined that it was the Spartak midline player who would bring the goal to his own goal. Nail Umyarov kicked in the simplest situation and allowed Konstantin Tyukavin to go one on one. Alexander Selikhov threw himself at the forward, but it was too late. Tyukavin, who appeared at the start due to the injury of Fedor Smolov, easily outplayed the goalkeeper. Dynamo unexpectedly took the lead, and this, of course, was a blow to Spartak, who had a total advantage.

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After that, the “blue and white” could have doubled the score if the newcomer of the team, Roberto Fernandez, after drawing the standard, hit the goal, and not the post. Spartak, on the other hand, continued to keep a high pace, but did not create really dangerous moments. Abascal had to hope that the players would come to their senses in the second half and be sharper in the final phase.

Dynamo adds

After the break, Spartak, of course, rushed forward. We managed to create several approaches, and sometimes the players even acted too aggressively. So, in one of the episodes, Alexander Sobolev played dangerously against Anton Shunin, which is why the Dynamo goalkeeper spent some time on the lawn.

Only now the advantage comparable to that which Spartak had in the first half was no longer observed on the field. Dynamo responded to the opponent’s positional attacks with quick attacks, using the speed of Tyukavin, Skopintsev, Makarov and other attacking players. One of these raids on the penalty guests ended with another bar. This time, Daniil Fomin completed the combination. The midfielder struck in the opposite direction, without a chance for Selikhov, but was inaccurate.

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“Dynamo” clearly added and was in no way inferior to “Spartak” in the fight. However, there was no certainty that the “blue and white” were worthy. After all, their defense has been greatly weakened this season. And Spartak has always been able to organize pressure.

I didn’t have enough strength

However, the beginning of the last twenty-minute period was marked more by Dynamo moments. First, Saba Sazonov sent the ball into the goal after a set piece, but due to offside Pavel Kukuyan canceled the goal. Then Vyacheslav Grulev went almost one-on-one, but could not cope with the pressure of the defense and eventually shot wide.

Spartak, meanwhile, fell more and more into sheds, counting on Sobolev’s talents. Ten minutes before the end, Abascal also released Shamar Nicholson, but less and less believed in success. At the very least, a miracle was needed to win. Especially when you consider that Dynamo continued to create scoring chances. After another corner Saba, Sazonov again got a great opportunity and loaded it with all his strength into the crossbar.

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The game didn’t end the way you’d expect. It seems that the “red-whites” simply did not have the strength to organize the powerful pressure for which they are famous. Guests created approaches, but it was all in vain. In the last minutes, Dynamo even remained in the minority due to the removal of Nicola Moro. But that didn’t help either. Alas, Umyarov’s fatal mistake interrupted Spartak’s winning streak. And the football community is now quite rightly joking about karma. Nail confused Fomin in the Russian Cup final. And now he was in flight.