It had been a long time since there was a derby like this! Spartak, CSKA and Karasev put on a wild show
Anatoly Romanov May 21, 2023, 19:02 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
The removal of Sobolev and Roshi, a controversial penalty, and Spartak still won!
Derby “Spartak” – CSKA did not disappoint. A true battle that had it all! The rojiblancos won and reduced the gap with the rojiazules to one point, and now they have an advantage in personal matches.
Denisov and Prutsev were absent from the Spartak application due to disqualification. Compared to the last round, two legionnaires also left the starting lineup: Martins Pereira and Keita Balde. The return to the base of the rojiblanco captain Jikia, who missed the last games due to injury, drew attention.
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The game in the derby was different in different sections of the game, but it overflowed from the first minutes. Judging by the composition, it could be assumed that Guillermo Abascal would imitate Vladimir Fedotov’s scheme and would put the 3-4-2-1 (as in Saint Petersburg with Zenit). However, Spartak played 4-3-3. However, when the full-backs stood out at CSKA, Zinkovsky sat in the line of defenders and the back five controlled the width of the army’s attack. Promes was less heavily loaded defensively, staying ahead with Sobolev for counter-attacks.
At first, it seemed that Spartak would act in quick retaliatory attacks. Some of them turned out to be dangerous. But then the rojiblancos began to have more possession of the ball and a territorial advantage. If CSKA pressed, then Zabolotny closed the defender Litvinov, and the insiders Oblyakov and Chalov put pressure on the defenders. In positional attacks, the hosts combined well in the middle of the field of the army, driving the guests out of the zones that included the “personal team” of the center-have. One of those multiplays ended with a goal in the middle of the first half. Did Ignatov or Sobolev have an offside position? A very difficult time for the judges. But since the offside lines are caught somewhere along the way from China, you have to determine by eye. The video assistants supported the side. Fedotov rightly pushed the centrals – they left a lot of space!
A difficult moment for the judges was at the end of the half hour, when Zabolotny scored. But there, it seems, the attacker was still out of the game. However, he soon scored for CSKA, and a surprisingly simple goal. Nobody met Akinfeev with the ball, but the Spartacists created depth with the unfortunate layout of the lines. Khlusevich did not take a step forward, leaving Chalov, and Tavaresh did not run after Medina. This mistake was by no means the first of the Portuguese in the match. Even before that, he was wrong positionally, he let himself be beaten one on one.
The statistics of shots at halftime reflected the equality of forces – 7:7, on target – 3:3. Even from the penalty team they shot the same number of times, four each. A draw would have been the logical result, and Spartak really scored in the 43rd minute. Here Fedotov will have questions for Medina and Diveev. The Paraguayan did not block Zinkovsky’s serve and the Russian national team player had to switch to Promes, passing Sobolev to Roche. Now Quincy is the best scorer in the history of Spartak in the Russian championships.
After the break, “swing football” continued. 25 thousand fans (how long ago there was no such public at Spartak’s home games!) experienced the whole gamut of sensations. Especially at the start of the second half, when the rojiblancos almost created one of the most beautiful goals of the season. Jikia’s heel cut off two CSKA players, and Sobolev’s heel sent Zobnin scoring. If Román completed the combination with a pass to Alejandro, it would most likely be a goal. But Zobnin is not a sniper. Meanwhile, Sobolev began to cut Rosha over and over again. As a result, the Spartak striker received a well-deserved red card for a provocative and insulting gesture towards the Brazilian. But why did Karasyov remove Roshu? He, not knowing Russian, simply demonstrated to the judges what his opponent had shown him.
By playing 10v10, there was more space on the field for teams to use when passing the ball. This happened, for example, in the episode with the fall in the penalty area of CSKA Khlusevich. There was no penalty (Spartak embellished the fall), and the army team organized a three-on-two counterattack. But the tired Zabolotny got confused in the decisions.
You can support Karasev in the episode with the fall of Zobnin. It’s not 11 meters. Diveev knocked out the ball, managed to get there before the Spartak player and simply put his foot down. Here it comes – it’s not a foul.
However, the Spartacists still earned a penalty. Not the quality, but the number of falls. Moisés, who had just come on as a substitute, did it in the 88th minute. It seems that the moment with a possible foul by Medina the most attracted was the 11-meter one, since the Paraguayan, deflecting the ball, also touched the opponent’s leg. But the penalty kick episode itself is a real drama! A few centimeters separated CSKA from salvation. Akinfeev dribbled, and then both Zainutdinov and the goalkeeper came very close to prevent Promes from scoring on the rebound.
The army did not have enough energy for the final assault.
