“Spartak is tired of football”: the results of the 20th round of the RPL

Orenburg – Spartak 2:0

– What is the reason for the defeat of “Spartacus”?

– The reason for the defeat of Spartak was the game of Orenburg. Spartacus looked like a tired team against their background. “Orenburg” did everything faster – went down to the defense faster, went on the attack faster. The forwards of Orenburg easily beat the defenders of Spartak one-on-one, and the score could have been larger. At the end of the match, Spartak could return to the game if they scored a goal. But this was already prevented by their own uncertainty and nervousness in the game, so the defeat in the case.

– You noticed the fatigue of Spartak. From the moment the season was resumed until this match, the Reds and Whites played in the championship with Ural and Fakel, in the Cup they managed to defeat Lokomotiv in the sum of two meetings. But all these games turned out to be rather difficult and tense. Could such a difficult game schedule lead to Spartak’s fatigue?

– There is fatigue not in the muscles, but in the head. When matches go one after another both in the Cup and in the championship, it is very important to have at least one and a half squads. Spartak has a rather long bench, they can add more during the match. But in Orenburg, and this is obvious, the team looked tired. She did not keep up with her opponent, who was faster in all components.

In general, the struggle in our championship is crazy. And teams from the bottom of the standings take points from the leaders.

– Due to what the Orenburgers managed to neutralize one of the best players in our championship – Promes?

– Promes does not play alone. Like every striker, he is a dependent player. Yes, he can use game moments, he is well equipped tactically and technically. But he had few approaches in this match to the opponent’s penalty area. Spartak carried out many positional attacks. But there were no fast attacks when Promes could break out into the operational space. “Orenburg” quickly sat on the defensive, defended in three lines, the whole team worked out. And quickly ran away in counterattacks. Spartak actually played the entire match against ten defenders, and it is always very difficult to open such a defense.

Ural – Dynamo – 0:1

– “Ural” suffered the first defeat since October last year. But Dynamo managed to score only in the last minutes of the meeting. Did this victory of the Muscovites follow from the logic of the whole game?

– Football is not always logical. Ural started this match very powerfully. For the first twenty minutes, they generally dominated, outplaying Dynamo in all components. They were faster, they created pressure. They didn’t have any super-obvious chances, but there were enough approaches to Shunin’s goal. Nevertheless, they didn’t score, and then the game slowly began to level off.

There was a lot of struggle in the second half, Ural continued to play the first number. Dynamo, as in the cup match in St. Petersburg, managed to survive. Dynamo can take a hit. And in the attacking group there are good players who are able to use the chances that appear in the match and score. It could have turned out differently, the game of “Ural” inspires respect. He plays with big teams on an equal footing, and with Dynamo he generally played from a position of strength. But it worked out the way it did.

– How did Gancharenko manage to achieve such a game with Ural, as you noted, from a position of strength?

– Good readiness level. The team is moving well. Well established in the offseason. Balanced team with a set game. They skillfully fight, cover opponents high, play with everyone on an equal footing, even from a position of strength, as in the 18th round with Spartak.

Gancharenko’s work leaves a good impression. The team has changed, shows interesting football, which is nice to watch.

Torch – Sochi – 3:0

– “Torch” at home defeated “Sochi” and this is the second consecutive major defeat of Kurban Berdyev’s team. What’s going on with Sochi? That does not work? What is common in the previous defeat against Orenburg and this one against Torch?

– Sochi played with a very motivated team – Fakel is fighting for survival in the Premier League. Plus crazy support for a home audience. Maybe Voronezh doesn’t have many victories, much more draws, but they fight with everyone. They force themselves to be respected. Every match is played with all their might, and this meeting was no exception. In all areas they acted harshly and selflessly. Sochi was not ready for such a game and gave the initiative to the opponent, who converted his dedication into victory. Moreover, Fakel improves during the championship, it gets better and better. More and more interesting moves appear in his game. Already more played, the team looks good and inspires respect.

– There were a lot of warnings in this mat, and even one removal. Can you call the game rough, or was it just that the fight was so tough in itself?

– It’s just that the game was tough, there was a lot of contact fighting. The field was not of the best quality, which also predisposed to the fight. And Fakel was more ready for it, put the squeeze on Sochi and won.

Lokomotiv – Krasnodar 3:2

– Another very interesting match was played in Moscow. Krasnodar led 2-0 after the first half. Why couldn’t he win?

– Krasnodar completely dominated in the first half. Moved better, combined better, created a lot of dangerous moments. There was practically no Lokomotiv on the field. And then Lokomotiv won not on the field, but in the locker room. The coaching staff managed to turn the game around, and a completely different team entered the second half. All the substitutions made by Galaktionov, primarily by releasing Zhemaletdinov and Glushenkov, strengthened the game. And in the first twenty minutes of the second half, Lokomotiv practically crushed Krasnodar. Which was not ready for such changes in the opponent. All balls were regular.

Krasnodar could return to the game when the lineups leveled ten minutes before the end of the match. The counterattacks began to take place. But Lokomotiv deservedly win.

– Last spring, Krasnodar suffered significant losses – almost all legionnaires left the team for certain political reasons. At some point, it even seemed that the team would be relegated to the first division. But the situation was saved by the pupils of their academy – only their own players played in Krasnodar. And they played very well. A year has passed, and the squad is again full of legionnaires, and Krasnodar’s game has faded, the team is in the middle of the standings. Are the students of their own academy so unprepared to represent their team in the top division? Can the reason for the defeat from Loko be the fact that there were few of their pupils in the line-up?

– In it there is a certain sensible grain. Because in this match Krasnodar broke down inside. Having conceded two goals in a row, they were confused. Many visiting foreigners do not yet know our championship. But I am not against legionnaires, so that only their pupils play in the clubs. There must be a balance. And the new legionnaires must be stronger than our players. Bring something different to our championship.

As for that Krasnodar team, they did not lose these guys, but gave many of them on loan. And many of them play for other clubs in the Premier League. Get game practice. Krasnodar needs time to re-create the team. Until we see it. We beat Dynamo in the last round, were stronger than Akhmat in the Cup. But as soon as they got on an over-motivated team, as soon as Lokomotiv sharply added in the second half, everything, they could not oppose anything.

– How justified and necessary was the reverse replacement of Zhemaletdinov in the last minutes?

– In general, this is not typical for football. But it was already, apparently, a tactical replacement, it was necessary to keep a positive result.

– How did Galaktionov manage to integrate such strong players as Dziuba, Glushenkov, Pinyaev into the team so quickly?

– Good players fit into any team very easily. And the team itself has changed. If earlier Lokomotiv was completely incomprehensible with previous coaches, today it is clear what kind of football he plays. And most importantly, there was a team. What was not there before.

– Barinov, Glushenkov, Pinyaev and all other players make a big contribution to Loko’s victories. But basically everyone is talking about Dziuba. Do you think Art1m has already returned to its previous level?

– If the flank game is well established, then the game in the Dziuba penalty box has no equal in our championship. He himself finds and knows how to use moments. I think he is the best center forward in the Premier League.

CSKA – Zenit – 1:0

– Zenit suffered the second defeat in a row, taking into account the cup match with Dynamo. Are these two defeats comparable or are they different?

– Zenit players need motivation. If they have a large opening in the championship standings, then they gradually drop to the average level of the tournament. As soon as motivation appears, Zenit will immediately add. All his defeats are defeats from themselves.

– They talk a lot about the features and advantages of the Zenit attack. And in this match we saw Zenit defending. What is he?

– Firstly, I must say that it was CSKA that forced Zenit to defend. He likes to play number one, to dominate, but here the game was on a collision course. CSKA in some moments was more mobilized and responsible. And due to this, they put the squeeze on Zenit, which lacked motivation.

– Or maybe Zenit just forgot how to play defensively a little? And the replacement of Karavaev by Chistyakov after the break is just a consequence of this?

– Not in this case. As soon as the defensive midfielder Barrios, who is good at insuring the wingers, who picks up all the balls, returns to the squad, everything will change. It was he who was lacking in the transition from defense to attack and vice versa. He is a team-building player, and he was clearly not enough.

Khimki – Rostov – 0:1

– Rostov won a minimal victory over Khimki and finishes the second third of the championship in second place. Due to what, and this is even surprising, Karpin’s team climbed so high in the standings?

– Most of the points they scored before the winter break. While in the spring the team plays hard, there are many young players who are not stable. Even in this match, having one more person, they did not dominate, did not show a quality game. According to Khimki’s statistics, they controlled the ball even more. Yes, Rostov won. This is very important for the standings. But Karpin’s team can and should play more interesting.

Wings of the Soviets – Akhmat – 0:1

– I want to say separately about Krylya Sovetov – a team with a good, staged game. Creates a lot of moments, but their implementation is lame. I am very sorry that the team is starting to sink to the bottom of the table, not getting points in matches. You get into the basement of the table – there is a completely different struggle. It would not shake them, there are a lot of young players in the squad. A good team, I like it, but in the first three spring rounds, not a single goal was scored at all. There are approaches to the gate, but no goals.

– Krylia had a difficult period – two matches in the Cup, in which they defeated Dynamo. Then immediately with Dynamo in the championship, after that two meetings with CSKA – in the Cup and RPL. Maybe they just got overwhelmed?

– Of course, such a game schedule affected. And the fields in the spring are not the best, which adds to the burden on the players. We must pay tribute, we have learned how to make fields, and for this time of year they are very worthy. But in any case, these are not summer fields. And the load on the legs is very decent. Of course, on the one hand, such a busy schedule for the Wings was very interesting. But you need to have a large margin of safety in terms of composition in order to pass it without loss.

– Now the clubs will have a short pause associated with the games of the national team. What is the best way to recover from such a heavy gaming schedule?

– We have a lot of struggle in every match now. And the break for the national team will provide an opportunity to shake up the players, to pull them up. Every game is very tense, one-goal wins, an unpredictable championship, many teams are well understaffed in the winter. And the first spring rounds all passed with losses. And more psychological fatigue. Needs a little reboot. It’s not about muscles, it’s about concentration.