“Zenith” did not get away from defeat – Sport – Kommersant

There was a sensation in the 16th round of the Russian Football Championship. The first defeat was suffered by the leader of the Premier League “Zenith”, which very unexpectedly lost at home to “Akhmat” – 1:2. This misfire allowed Spartak, which played 1:1 with Sochi, to get a little closer to the St. Petersburg club. Now the two best teams in the championship have 39 and 33 points, respectively. CSKA, which stumbled 0-1 against Paris Nizhny Novgorod, still has 29 points.

Runner-up “Spartacus” came to visit “Sochi”, which became the second in the last championship, at a convenient moment for himself and a very difficult one for the opponent. Chernomortsy, who not so long ago still kept in the group of leaders, gradually slipped down and ended up in ninth place with 21 points. The difference with the same Spartak was 11 points. And in the previous six rounds, they won only one victory, while the red-whites won five times in the same period with one draw. Particularly painful, of course, was the defeat of Sochi from Zenit with a score of 0:7.

For the match with Spartak, Vadim Garanin, who was the acting head coach, disappeared from the application of the vice-champions of the country, despite the fact that formally he was Alexander Tochilin. Officially, nothing was reported about his fate, but, according to some media reports, the specialist was suspended from working with the team a few days ago. Club President Boris Rotenberg denied this information, and Sochi General Director Dmitry Rubashko said that Garanin was “unwell.” In addition, Christian Noboa disappeared from the application, but the absence of the leading football player of the Black Sea team was due to injury.

At first, it seemed that Spartak would not have any unnecessary problems. Already in the seventh minute, Quincy Promes scored his 13th goal in the current championship, gaining a foothold at the head of the list of top scorers. Moreover, the Dutchman distinguished himself in a rare way for him – a headbutt, closing the feed from the flank of Daniil Denisov. However, even by the middle of the first half, the Muscovites could have remained in the minority after Alexander Sobolev fouled on the second yellow card, and they were frankly lucky that the referee did not see this episode. But before the break, they lost the lead, leaving Cyril Zaika alone under the goal with a cross from the left of Joaozinho.

And the game itself has already taken place without the advantage of the guests. At the same time, in the debut of the second half, they were saved by goalkeeper Alexander Selikhov, when the same Joaozinho beat. And further in the penalty area, the red-and-whites were more anxious than in the possessions of Sochi goalkeeper Nikolai Zabolotny. Spartak already had to think not so much about winning, but about how to keep at least a draw, especially since everything was completely upset in the attack. The match, which was difficult for both teams, ended 1:1. Muscovites took away only one point from the Black Sea coast, and scored 33 in total, providing an opportunity “Zenith” increase your lead to nine points.

Petersburgers took “Akhmat”, and no one doubted that they would win another home victory. And how can there be any doubt if in the first round they won all seven meetings at the Gazprom Arena with a total difference of 30:2. However, now the hosts were in for a surprise. Not only did they concede in the first minute, when Yevgeny Kharin guarded the rebound after Vladislav Kamilov’s shot and a rebound into the post from Zenit defender Vyacheslav Karavaev, his colleague Dmitry Chistyakov soon brought the second goal. Akhmat striker Mohamed Konate covered the Zenit player and, going one on one with goalkeeper Mikhail Kerzhakov, threw the ball over him. Thus, by the eighth minute, the championship leader was already flying 0:2.

The Petersburgers had a lot of time to change the course of the match. It’s just that they didn’t do much.

For the entire first half, they only once forced the goalkeeper Georgiy Shelia to show a reaction, who in another case was helped by the bar. But Akhmat almost earned a penalty when Chistyakov blocked the shot with the help of his hand, but the judges considered that his hand was in the correct position.

During the break, the head coach of “Zenith” Sergei Semak clearly shook up the team, and she increased the pressure on Grozny residents. They rolled back and selflessly held back the onslaught, rushing under the ball and creeping in tackles. But in the 65th minute, when drawing a corner, the defense of the guests nevertheless gave a crack, and Andrey Mostovoy flashed Shelia from close range. Then “Akhmat” managed to somewhat bring down the offensive impulse of the opponent and snap back in the counterattack. But still, the hosts created a great moment for Malcolm, who disposed of them not in the best way, trying to score an experienced Shelia on the technique in the near corner. In the end, the Petersburgers tried to arrange a bulk, releasing three fresh players, but this did not lead to anything. The sensation took place, and Zenit suffered its first defeat in the championship – 1:2.

As a result, thanks to Akhmat, Spartak reduced the gap from the main contender for the championship from seven to six points. However, CSKA got a chance to come close to the red and white. He only had to sort things out on his own field with “Nizhny Novgorod”which for six rounds in a row did not know victories, and lost five matches at all.

Meanwhile, it was not the army team that looked more active in the opening. Nizhny Novgorod was eager to break the series of failures, although they lacked sharpness in the final phase of the attack. Muscovites also acted without a goal, so it is logical that zeros were shining on the scoreboard for a long time. In the second half, CSKA already had more initiative, but with the same success. But the guests managed to squeeze a goal out of a corner kick, when defender Viktor Aleksandrov accurately struck a header in the fall. After that, the hosts were wound up to the fullest, but they still didn’t have any obvious moments, and goalkeeper Artur Nigmatullin parried the unpleasant blows of Anton Zabolotny and Adolfo Gaich, who came on as a substitute.

CSKA followed the example of Zenit and quite unexpectedly lost – 0:1. So Spartak is now ahead of the red-blue not by three, but by four points. And on Sunday, Rostov can take third place from them if Dynamo does not lose.

Alexander Ilyin