Kokorin scores again in European competition! But what did the Russian do when the team gave in?
Anatoly Romanov September 22, 2023, 00:10 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
“Aris” lost to “Sparta” in League of Legends, and Alexander somehow participated in his own and other people’s goals.
Kokorin’s Aris began the Europa League group stage with a defeat against Sparta Prague. But the Russian scored in the European Cup for the first time in almost five years.
Kokorin missed the European competitions so much that, after the opening whistle and the first shot of the Sparta players from the center of the field, he ran towards the defenders who had seized the ball, as if he were an Olympian on the field. 100 meter final. Our legionnaire attacked from the second striker position, playing in tandem with the Senegalese Gomis. Aris’ two forwards put pressure on the three local centre-backs, depriving them of time to make decisions. The last time Kokorin scored in European competition was in October 2018 against the Czechs, against Slavia with Zenit in the Europa League. And in Prague he scored in the 11th minute!
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Alexander converted the penalty, which the Cypriots won after a corner and an unexpected throw of the ball into the area by an Aris player above him. Krejci did not have time to intercept: he kicked defender Brorsson in the face. Kokorin shot from the right spot and the goalkeeper jumped in the other direction. The visitors scored with the first shot on goal.
When the score was 1:0 in their favor, “Aris” did not close, tried to put pressure on the situation, everything, as his coach Alexey Shpilevsky likes. Kokorin was soon on the verge of scoring a double when he flew into the goalkeeper’s far corner under a Bengtsson cross, but the defender took the ball off his head at the last moment. And then Aris missed two “cheap” goals. Sparta had a great run midway through the first half and converted a couple of set pieces. The antihero Krejci became a hero: the center back scored a double! In the first case, he won the fight ahead of Kazhu. Kokorin, responsible for the near post, did not have time to intercept, but he was not to blame for this failed goal.
Sparta’s second goal came after a throw-in. Here Kokorin somehow strangely distanced himself from Krejci. After this, the ball bounced off Urosevic’s foot towards the Czech captain, and he once again showed that he has sniper skills.
The advantage of “Sparta” in class, of course, was felt, but “Aris” desperately fought with the Czechs and played as they were accustomed to. The open football after the break kept everyone’s attention and was not boring. It cannot be said exactly about Shpilevsky’s team: “some Cypriots.” Kokorin actively worked between the lines, looked for the ball and tried to act as a playmaker. The Russian performed some actions better, others worse, due to the fatigue that appeared. Still, the intensity was quite high for a middle-aged striker.
At Sparta, Kukhta, a former Lokomotiv striker, played in the attacking trio. He was substituted in the 65th minute and Ian was very unhappy with the coach’s decision. But it’s not that Kukhta had a great game: an inaccurate shot and a pass under attack in more than an hour. Aris did not take advantage of its opportunity at the beginning of the second half, but the Prague team scored the third goal without Kukhta. Again as a result of the standard! Several first touches gained led to Krejci’s teammate in the center of defense, Vitik, scoring from close range. Shortly after, Kokorin received a yellow card for a rough tackle in the opponent’s half.
Kokorin’s energy, according to Shpilevsky, was enough for 74 minutes. Then the Russian was replaced by the Polish Stempinski. Alexander’s final statistics: 29 touches, one shot on goal, 62% accurate passes, 11 turnovers, three battles won out of seven, one tackle and two clearances, one deserved foul and two of his own. Overall, a normal match for Alexander.
In the absence of Kokorin, the Cypriots managed to score a goal. The team successfully pressed again in the Czech half of the field, the fresh Babika intercepted the ball and shot with low precision from outside the area.
However, Aris still suffered a defeat, losing three times in shots on goal (3-9).
