“Spartak” checked on “Dynamo” – Sport – Kommersant

In the central match of the 6th round of the Russian Football Championship and the oldest Moscow derby, Dynamo defeated Spartak with a score of 1:0. However, the first defeat has not yet deprived the red-white leadership. “Rostov”, which could get around them in case of a victory over “Sochi”, tied – 2:2.

Saturday’s program of the 6th round was very eventful. The first match of Ural under the leadership of Viktor Goncharenko, who returned to the post of head coach, and the game of Lokomotiv, who was in a difficult position at the start of the championship, and the confrontation between the teams of the head group Rostov-Sochi deserved attention. And the Dynamo-Spartak derby generally referred to events, as they say, out of the ordinary.

The red-and-whites unexpectedly took the lead in the Premier League, stunned not so much by the results as by the content of football.

After all, many experts were skeptical appointment too “young”, 33-year-old Guillermo Abascal as a mentor of such a big club as Spartak. But the Spaniard, unknown to anyone in Russia, quickly figured out what was what, and forced himself to be respected.

His team scored 13 points out of 15 possible with a goal difference of 14:3. And if at first Abaskal’s successes were attributed to not the highest level of rivals and a favorable set of circumstances, then after a major victory over Sochi they were already taken seriously. Although some skeptics were not even impressed by the defeat of the silver medalist of the last championship, and they said that the derby with Dynamo would show how good Abaskal and his Spartak really are.

The blue-and-whites started not so brightly, nevertheless, they took nine points in five rounds and did not suffer a single defeat. Their new coach Slavisa Jokanovic didn’t seem to mess anything up. having accepted the baton from the German specialist Sandro Schwartz, but the game of his team received restrained reviews, and they even saw a certain regression in comparison with last season. True, we should not forget that even under Schwartz, Dynamo lost both matches to Spartak in the 2022 calendar year, including the final of the Russian Cup that is still fresh in my memory.

For Jokanovic, this derby was also akin to an exam, which assessed the intermediate result of his work.

Meanwhile, the Dynamo suffered a significant loss. Their top scorer Fedor Smolov was not included in the application on the recommendation of the medical staff. In his absence, Jokanovic decided to bet on Konstantin Tyukavin and their connection with Arsen Zakharyan. But still Smolov was not enough for the owners. And Spartak could very quickly open an account when Quincy Promes, his top scorer, beat him from close range, albeit at an acute angle. This time the technique failed the Dutchman, and he missed. I must say, both teams were visibly shaking with excitement in the opening, and this led to a lot of marriage.

Again, Spartak coped with the jitters faster and established a combination game. His advantage in possession of the ball during the first half was 75%, and the situation at the gates of Anton Shunin became more and more tense. The red-whites only rarely brought things to blows, of which Alexander Sobolev delivered the most dangerous, and then because of the penalty area. But in the 27th minute, the guests made an annoying blunder. Their prop player Nail Umyarov had his legs tangled on a perfectly even pitch, and he simply gave the ball to Tyukavin, who found himself alone in front of Alexander Selikhov and calmly dealt with the goalkeeper.

The Spartacists did not pay attention to this embarrassment and moved forward again. However, it was still difficult for them to open the deep defense of Dynamo, which did not hesitate to sit down with almost the entire team in their own half of the field. And sometimes the blue and white snarled, and shortly before the break, their defender Roberto Fernandez even hit the post after a free-kick. So, with all its external superiority, Spartak almost managed to get a 0:2 score.

In the second half, the Dynamo adhered to the same tactics aimed at tying the opponent in constant combat and depriving him of freedom of action.

True, Shunin screwed up completely inopportunely at his own penalty area, but then he fixed everything himself, boldly rushing at Sobolev and preventing him from pushing the ball into the net. The hosts did not give up on counterattacks either. Daniil Fomin frankly forgave Spartak when, after a pass from Zakharyan, he hit Selikhova into the dead zone and stroked the post. The guests were also lucky when the white-and-blues scored from a corner, but the referees annulled the goal due to interference with the goalkeeper. And also Saba Sazonov shook the crossbar – and again Dynamo played a very dangerous corner. While the red-whites had a hard time with chances, and they had absolutely no control over the game. Wards of Jokanovic clearly felt the courage and the proximity of a fundamental victory, which gave them additional strength.

The last chance to save the match was presented to Spartak when Nicola Moro ran into a second yellow card in the 89th minute and went to the locker room ahead of schedule. But even in the short majority, Promes and his partners could not portray anything but a banal bulk. Jokanovic destroyed the attacking model of Abascal and tactically outplayed his opponent, although in fact the outcome of the derby was predetermined by one mistake by Umyarov, who even apologized to the team and fans after the final whistle.

Having won 1:0, Dynamo reduced the gap from the leader to one point. Meanwhile, a misfire at the VTB Arena could cost Spartak and leadership if Rostov defeated Sochi at home.

But Nikolai Komlichenko did not convert a penalty for the hosts, while Christian Noboa from Sochi 11-meter cleared. There were also situations in which Rostovites showed extravagance. Guests also sinned with this, until Artur Yusupov showed extra-class with a twisted shot into the top corner. Stepan Melnikov retook one goal and turned the match into a nervous ending, in which the yellow-blues almost performed a miracle. In stoppage time, the Chernomortsy brought the ball into their own net, after which they managed to foul again in their penalty area. However, their goalkeeper Denis Adamov parried the second penalty in an incredible way, having coped with the kick of Daniil Utkin. Draw – 2:2, and “Rostov” with 12 points is still third.

As for the other matches on Saturday, Goncharenko failed to immediately clean up Ural’s karma. Yekaterinburg lost at home to Pari Nizhny Novgorod, conceding the only goal after Andrey Egorychev was sent off. Thus, they remained at the bottom of the standings, but Nizhny Novgorod moved up to 12th place with five points, pushing Lokomotiv to 14th place. The railway workers played away with Khimki, and a few days before this meeting they were closed at the training base. Apparently, such an ascetic method of preparation has borne fruit. Girano Kerk first scored himself, and then helped François Camano score from a set piece. However, once again the lot of Muscovites fell to the test. Even before the break, the referee presented a red card to their central defender Mark Mampassi, but the guests clung to the result with an iron grip and finally got their first victory in the championship. Moreover, at the end of the match, thanks to the efforts of Konstantin Maradishvili, they even increased the score to a big one – 3:0. Now Lokomotiv has six points, and it has displaced Nizhny Novgorod from the 12th position.

Alexander Ilyin