Spartak stole the victory. Everything was ruined by Litvinov’s ridiculous own goal
Anatoly Romanov September 15, 2024, 21:10 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
The match in Makhachkala ended in a draw, although in the end the red-and-whites played 11 against 10.
Spartak failed to beat Dynamo Makhachkala again. Now – in the RPL. The match in Dagestan ended in a draw, although the home team finished the match with ten men.
In Makhachkala, Marquinhos was included in Spartak’s starting line-up: the summer newcomer played in the left midfield position. Dejan Stankovic still believes in the Brazilian he brought from Ferencvaros, unlike, for example, his compatriot Willian Jose. But at the start of the match, Marquinhos and his teammates thought more about defence. Dynamo started the home game aggressively, confronted the red-and-whites and tried to attack with speed.
However, Spartak quickly got the game in the right direction. Stankovic’s team took possession of the ball and moved it well in positional attacks – the Muscovites took advantage of the individual skill of their players. The adjustment worked, but Spartak did not create any scoring chances until the middle of the first half. The ball was mainly played between the penalty areas. A powerful cut occurred in the centre of the field.
But in the 20th minute Spartak scored with the first shot on goal! The key action in this attack is Umyarov returning the ball in the opposite third of the field. Bongonda had the opportunity to cross unhindered, Medina crossed near the goal and Ugalde stepped up and scored his fifth goal this RPL season.
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Spartak took the lead, and Dynamo became bolder. There were even more emotions on the field. Khasanbi Bidzhiev’s team focused on the flanks when developing attacks. The home team organized several sharp attacks with the participation of left-back Sandrachuk, but the right-back wasted precious seconds, working the ball under his comfortable foot and losing momentum in passing. And once he went almost one-on-one at an acute angle, but weakly drilled the ball with his right hand, straight into the hands of Maksimenko. However, before the break Dynamo rallied. This goal was largely due to Glushkov (the same native of St. Petersburg, who after the cup match of the teams admitted that he was always rooting for Spartak): the midfielder left Babich and Umyarov, and the attack ended with Litvinov cutting the ball into his own goal. A funny own goal.
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Stankovic reacted to the situation by making a double substitution at half-time. Obviously, the Serbian coach could not be satisfied with the fact that his team only scored once during the half. Instead of Khlusevich and Medina, Abena and Martins came on. It is curious that after all the changes, Litvinov moved to the right flank of the defence. But this, of course, is to control counterattacks and not to strengthen the attack by pulling the wing forward.
For 20 minutes, Dynamo worked very effectively without the ball, so Spartak still had no chances to score. Moreover, every forward throw of the hosts created tension in the red-and-white defence. But then Martins found Marquinhos with a pass in a killer position. How the Brazilian did not score from an empty corner is simply incredible! Stankovic’s favourite managed to beat Paltsev, so the newcomer to the Russian national team made a brilliant save (a blocked shot).
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Spartak also lacked Barco’s usual sharpness. When playing at the same strength, the Argentine had only one blocked shot and one set-piece pass. In the end, Stankovic brought Nicholson off the bench, although he replaced the tired striker, Ugalde. 10 minutes before the end, the ball still went into the Wolf’s goal, but this attack was ruined by Bongonda, who released the ball out of the field. An indisputable refereeing decision, although offensive to the red and whites.
Mangash finally made his debut for Spartak. It was on him that Dynamo midfielder Mrezig earned a ridiculous red card, giving the ball to the opponent in his own half and committing fouls in order not to miss a one-on-one opportunity. Ten men from Bidzhiev’s team fought off the final assault of the red-and-whites as best they could. The Muscovites had chances to score after a corner and a long-range shot by Umyarov. They were unsuccessful. As a result, Spartak outscored Dynamo by 13:7, but still lost in shots on goal (1:2).
