CSKA and Zenit won difficult victories in the Fonbet group stage matches of the Russian Cup

In the fourth round of the Fonbet group stage of the Russian Cup, CSKA and Zenit won difficult victories. The tournament favorites got them in penalty shootouts. The army team defeated Sochi, and the St. Petersburg team defeated Akhmat, earning two points each.

For the home match with Sochi, CSKA, which took second place in Group A after Orenburg, fielded a lineup that was close to optimal, although it had previously actively tested youth in cup matches. According to tradition, only goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev received a day off, who was again replaced by Vladislav Torop. But Sochi was also charged for results after the recent resignation from the post of head coach Dmitry Khokhlov. His successor was Alexander Tochilin, who was given the third chance by the club’s management to work with the team and who, of course, wanted to celebrate his return with a victory.

As a result, it turned out to be a difficult match, somewhat similar to the one the opponents played in the first round in Sochi, where, however, they were still hampered by a poor quality field.

At the VEB Arena the clearing is now ideal, however, something prevented the visiting striker Georgy Melkadze from delivering a good shot from scoring positions twice. CSKA forward Fedor Chalov was not allowed to score from the corner by the excellent reaction of goalkeeper Nikita Goylo. And in general, the opponents successfully interfered with each other. It seemed that there would be nothing interesting in the first half, but then 38-year-old Christian Noboa reminded him what a great master he is. The veteran supported a quick counterattack, rushed into someone else’s penalty area and also performed a complex technical element, volleying home Melkadze’s cross.

If Sochi looked better before the break, then after it CSKA noticeably stepped up its game. True, the Muscovites continued to have difficulty overcoming the dense Sochi defense, which was not weakened even by the absence of leading central defender Vanja Drkusic. But they scored from a corner, taking advantage of the fact that small-sized Ivan Oblyakov, who seemed to be harmless from set-pieces, was left without guards.

And yet, Sochi was closer to victory in regular time. Melkadze ruined a one-on-one with Torop, which arose after a blunder by Victor Mendez, and then the 19-year-old goalkeeper also pulled in Martin Kramaric’s shot. In that episode, he was also helped by Willian Rocha, who covered the goal from Ivan Ignatiev with his chest. Torop also shone in the penalty shootout, saving one more goal than his counterpart Goilo. CSKA won – 4:2 – and came out on top with seven points, at least until Orenburg played Fakel – their match will take place on Thursday.

In Group C, the leadership was unexpectedly taken by Baltika, which is now at the bottom of the Russian Championship. Zenit had three points less and the away match with Akhmat was in reserve. But the Grozny team played so hard under the new head coach Miroslav Romashchenko that they went on a streak of five matches without defeat. Recently, even Krasnodar, which leads the Premier League, could not defeat them, but now the residents of St. Petersburg have felt the strength of the current Akhmat.

It is clear that Zenit resorted to large-scale rotation, and its best player Wendel did not even make it into the squad, and yet the score 2:0 in favor of the hosts looked unreal by the 14th minute.

First, Svetoslav Kovachev shot low from under Robert Renan into the corner to his left, and soon Ivan Oleinikov sent the ball to about the same place. Moreover, Mohamed Konate could have scored the third goal.

But then Akhmat relaxed and missed three. Ivan Sergeev, who for some reason was not held, scored a double in just six minutes, and Mateo Cassierra, who replaced Dmitry Vasiliev during the first half, put the guests ahead even before the break. The Colombian very effectively sent the ball into the net from a pass from Danil Krugovoi – almost with the back of his head, standing with his back to the goal. Although by the break it could well have been 3:3 if Sergeev had not blocked Konate’s shot on his goal line.

It’s not that the teams calmed down in the second half, but their performance dropped. Zenit midfielder Alexander Erokhin missed a simply magnificent chance, and Kamilo hit the post from the Grozny team. Nevertheless, Akhmat striker Vladimir Ilyin scored the sixth goal in this match from a flank pass from Evgeniy Kharin.

In the end, the St. Petersburg team released their goal specialists – Claudinho and Wilson Isidore, and the French forward caught the hosts in a mistake, which Marat Bystrov corrected only at the cost of a foul of the last hope and a red card. But the guests had almost no time left to implement most of them. But they took more shots from the penalty spot, achieving a two-point victory – 4:2. Their goalkeeper Alexander Vasyutin made two saves.

Oddly enough, regulation time ended in a draw – 0:0 and 1:1 – in both matches in Group B, in which Ural played Lokomotiv and Rubin played Rostov. Moreover, the Ekaterinburg and Rostov players won on penalties with the same score of 4:2 as CSKA and Zenit.

Alexander Ilyin