CSKA suffered its first defeat in the RPL in 2024 and Akhmat won for the first time under the leadership of Magomed Adiev. Sensation in Moscow.
Akinfeev unexpectedly did not enter CSKA’s starting eleven: Torop entered from the first minutes. Shortly before the start of the match, the coach of the military team Vladimir Fedotov explained on Match TV the absence of the captain in the goal:
“Why are Torop and Chalov at the beginning? We played a Cup match and there we showed our worth. There is absolutely no secret here. We are always guided by these rules. Leaving Akinfeev in reserve is a normal situation. Look at the busy schedule: this is the seventh game in a month. And the agenda is getting busier. “Everyone will practice the game, we need the participation of all the players.”
For Akhmat’s coach, former CSKA player Adiev, the integrity of the match against his former team was hardly greater than it would have been against any other opponent in this situation. Under his leadership, the Grozny team lost two matches with a score of 1:9 and fell into the relegation zone. Adiev’s reaction was to change tactics: Akhmat actually mirrored the army team’s scheme and played 5-4-1.
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At equal strength, CSKA had the ball almost 80% of the time, but could not find free spaces. He did not shoot once (with the exception of the blocked shot by Oblyakov, who, by the way, was actively moving to the right when playing the ball) during the 11-on-11 game, and “Akhmat” almost finished his first attack after 10 minutes of the match with a nice goal. Sadulaev opened for the center, Gaich released his opponent and the south end was effectively crossed. But the ball flew just over the goal. And at the end of the third of the first half, CSKA was let down by Willian Rocha, who came out with the captain’s armband. The Brazilian put pressure on Sadulayev’s own ankle. Judge Shafeev showed a yellow card, but after watching the replay he changed his decision and issued a red card. Willian Rocha did not even argue: he understood that he had accidentally committed a flagrant foul. Now the Brazilian will miss the derby against Spartak, like Faizullaev, who received a fourth warning.
Interestingly, even in the majority, “Akhmat” played as “number two” before the break. Except he started running into the army players who were holding the ball higher. At first, nothing changed for CSKA, only that there were already two center backs behind, and not a trio. Then Fedotov, however, swapped Mendes for Diveev. There was no chance of a goal: football turned out to be very cautious. CSKA and Akhmat did not make a single shot on goal in more than 45 minutes.
At the beginning of the second half, Akhmat recovered the ball well, pressed and created two crazy chances with the participation of Sadulayev. The flank passes of Adiev’s team, especially Todorovic, became a big problem for CSKA’s defense. In the first case, Sadulayev shot the crossbar. Lechi then had the opportunity to shoot freely from the center of the area from 7-8 meters, but he simply missed. The Red-Blues were very lucky in these episodes.
Once again, luck smiled on the military team when, after the hour mark, they made a quick attack and the ball, after touching Agapov and bouncing, hit Gundry’s hand. The winter newcomer didn’t even have time to react, however, a foul is a foul. Chalov cleverly converted the penalty and at half-time he beat goalkeeper Shelia. It is interesting that Fedotov was preparing to replace Fedor before the 11-meter penalty. The striker, having overtaken CSKA, immediately left the field.
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This goal brought the army team to first place in the RPL in terms of number of goals. Before the tour, CSKA shared first place in terms of performance with Zenit (43 each). After that, Fedotov’s team played to maintain a minimal lead and Akhmat attacked with great forces. Adiev released the powerful Konate and the quick dribbler Berisha. The visitors put the ball into the area again and again, but the locals resisted. Torop was good out of the gate. But a quarter of an hour before the final, the new attacking pair of the southerners scored a goal back. Gaich did not block Berisha’s cross and Diveev missed Konate, who opened up and headed in.
In the end, Adiev’s team put the finishing touches on the tired soldiers. Berisha picked up the ball that he had bounced off Konate and sent it low into the area, but Sadulaev played very well and did not touch. Torop clearly did not expect such a decision from the striker and the ball went into the net. Sadulaev avoided offside due to Moisés’ position, but Diveev again let his rival go. Very unfortunate match for the defender of the Russian team, who also earned a direct expulsion in the 90th minute, by kicking his rival in the face. Diveev will also watch the derby against Spartak from the stands.
