The weather unpleasantly surprised the teams – it has become noticeably colder in the capital in recent days. But that didn’t stop the game.
In the starting lineup of Lokomotiv, which played at the home stadium, there were two experienced newcomers to the team – striker Artem Dzyuba and defender Igor Smolnikov. Surprised “Spartacus” – Guillermo Abascal released 11 Russian players from the first minutes, leaving all available legionnaires in reserve. Also, due to the disqualification, Shamar Nicholson, Alexander Sobolev and Alexander Selikhov could not help their comrades. All of them were sanctioned for their active participation in the fight in the match against Zenit.
Spartak had more possession of the ball and controlled the course of the game in the first half. The rojiblancos attacked more frequently and opened the scoring in minute 16 after a well-aimed shot from Danil Prutsev.
Abascal’s team gave up the initiative after the break. The “locomotive” began to attack more often, and the moments began to appear at the gates of Alexander Maksimenko. In one of them, Dzyuba finished off with his head, but the ball hit the post and flew straight into the goalkeeper’s hands. A little earlier, he was able to hit the door at point blank range.
Lokomotiv even scored, but after watching the replay, referee Vladislav Bezborodov called it off. One of the hosts’ players was offside and actively interfered with the Spartak players.
As a result, the score on the scoreboard has not changed. Spartak won 1:0. The second leg will take place on February 27.
