Spartak brought the resignation of the German headquarters of Lokomotiv closer. Spartak 1:0 Lokomotiv

Russian championship. 10th round. Tushino. Spartak 1:0 Lokomotiv. Goal: Sobolev, 35.

What the German, so to speak, “specialists” continue to do in one of the legendary clubs of the country does not climb into any gates. Lokomotiv scored only 9 points in the starting 10 rounds – this is a repetition of the worst start of the railway workers in the Russian championship (the same happened in the 2016/17 season). Loko is 12th in the Russian Premier League table, Muscovites are one point away from the play-off zone. Shame and disgrace, to drive such leaders and coaches along the rails all the way to Germany.

But the red-whites came to a working, football condition after two defeats in a row and confidently (not in a row) outplayed Lokomotiv in the derby. For the first time, the guests hit Alexander Selikhov on target only in the 50th minute. Either the railroad workers “fuse” the coach, or they forgot how to play at all – I don’t want to believe in the latter.

Guillermo Abascal, after the defeat in Rostov, seated Chernov, Rybus and Ignatov on the bench. Denisov returned to the flank of the defense, Litvinov to the center, Prutsev came out in midfield, and the attacking three (again, a different scheme for Spartak) was Promes with Sobolev on the flanks and Nicholson in the center.

Lokomotiv also had changes: newcomers Kuzmichev and Pedrinho appeared at the base of the Russian championship (now you can call him that). The German “generalist” Josef Zinnbauer spent the entire match on his feet, directing the actions of his wards. There was no sense from this – it only got wet, it rained all day in Moscow.

The first half was remembered by the emotions and the desire to play fast (among the Spartacists), and the senseless walking around the field of the railroad. The indefatigable Umyarov, who went down to the central defenders to play the ball, sorted out the attacks of the hosts. Spartak kept Lokomotiv in a black body for almost the entire game, creating dangerous chances one by one. Only Nicholson, with an ideal implementation, would have scored a hat-trick before the break. But the Jamaican over and over again missed the seven-meter gate.

The only realized moment for Spartak was created by Sobolev. At the 35th minute, Mampassi once again brought out of the blue a scoring attack on his own goal. Sobolev easily left Tiknizyan to watch TV and completed the one-on-one exit by sending the ball into the net of Daniil Khudyakov’s goal.

Having used all five replacements, the chief helmsman of the non-driving Sapsan did not help the matter. Lokomotiv looked better in the second half, but only because they began to run at least a little, and not walk. Fairy Pedrinho, but his beautiful feints did little for the red-greens. The Brazilian often overexposed the spotted one on his flank, and made more cuts than accurate passes. There is nothing to say about Kirk and Camano at all – they forgot to go to the game.

The only negative for Spartak is another stupid warning from Sobolev. This is the fourth “yellow card” from the center forward in the championship, which means that he will miss the match of the next round with Pari NN. The second 45 minutes also included an incredible transfer from Sobolev to Khlusevich. Daniel, however, ruined the moment.

Lokomotiv’s eyes did not shine in the second half, there was no fire in the attack, even Miranchuk, who came out, went out on the outskirts of the field. It is true to admit that closer to the final whistle, Selikhov had to bail out his own a couple of times. But there is more of a claim to the railway workers, who mediocrely fused two exits (Izidor and Ignatiev) to the Spartak gates.

“Spartak” deservedly won, and is preparing to meet with “Zenith” in the Cup. But Zinnbauer does not exactly understand what is happening and how to overcome this crisis – if the mediocre and weak-willed game of the railway workers can be called such a beautiful word.

When asked by a correspondent of our publication why the team “melts” the coach, Josef Zinnbauer answered evasively: “In the first half, we practically fell out of the game. It’s about ball handling. Lokomotiv did not enter the match at all today! It was easy for Spartak to play ahead and make decisions. We ourselves made it easier for the opponent. We played better in the second half but didn’t create enough chances to score against a team like Spartak. With such a first half, it is very difficult to win any match. I have no questions for the team on actions in the second half. We need to analyze our game in the first half.”

To my second question, is the coach sure that he will prepare the team for the next game, the German “specialist”, so to speak, answered honestly: “Am I sure that I will prepare the team during the pause for the national teams? I cannot answer this question for you.”

The winner of the Moscow derby also had questions from our publication. To the first, that preparations for the game with Lokomotiv took place against the backdrop of talks about the dismissal of the German headquarters, Guillermo Abascal answered in full: “We understood that Loko’s defense was rising high, we had space. I would have preferred if we had 41 fewer touches but one more goal. I’m happy with the match as the first half started. We created a lot of chances, but lacked efficiency in the end. The shots were weak or uncertain, but I am satisfied with the team’s performance. We did not prepare the team specifically for Lokomotiv. We are not preparing in the way that the team can fire the coach. We always have a goal to win.”

But to the second question, about the new sports director of Spartak, like his colleague-rival in this match, Guillermo Abascal answered in the negative – allegedly he has not yet been appointed.

We part with the RPL for two weeks, I hope that the German headquarters of Lokomotiv will still be sent home.

Vladimir Sabadash.

Photo of the author.