WHAT SICK SAFONOV?
Lokomotiv scored six points in two rounds under the leadership of Mikhail Galaktionov, more than in the previous ten. At the same time, he played four of the five spring matches away from home: in the Cup with Spartak, and in Tolyatti, in Rostov and Grozny in the RPL. And finally, the railway workers appeared before their native audience on the emerald lawn of Cherkizovo.
Appeared with Dmitry Barinov in the composition. During the week, the figure of the midfielder was actively discussed due to the fact that he had to miss the match in Tolyatti due to suspension, but that moment was lost at the club. He returned to the base, as did Anton Miranchuk, who was substituted in Togliatti during the break, as well as Artem Dziuba, who had a week off. Among the top five attackers, Maxim Glushenkov got a place on the bench.
Photo source: FC Lokomotiv
Vladimir Ivic lost Matvey Safonov, who was ill before the match. They say coronavirus. The goalie still got into the app though (hardly possible with covid) though not into the main team. His position at the gate was taken by Stanislav Agkatsev. No other noteworthy changes were observed. Christian Ramírez in defense, Eduard Spertsyan in midfield, John Cordoba in attack: everything is in place.
Dziuba’s mediocre penalty
Knowing the attacking bank of the guests, Galaktionov resorted to an unusual countermeasure recipe in the middle of the field. In the first phase, without the ball, Loko’s formation can be described as a 3-1-4-2 with Francois Camano on the same level as Dziuba and Nair Tiknizyan, so to speak, in the midfield. “One” is Karpukas. When Krasnodar was consolidated in the other half, the railway returned to the four defenders.
Tiknizyan’s high position looked especially interesting, as it allowed him to act more actively in attack. Sergei Pinyaev helped him on the flank, and Sergei Volkov opposed him, whom the Muscovites, apparently, chose as the weak link. It was through their zone where they made the two most dangerous combinations, and the last pass fell right on Tiknizyan. Unfortunately, Kamano and Miranchuk hit the same spot near the left post. And at the end of the half, the defender himself did not finish off an empty corner from a meter…
In general, individually Herman Conti, Miranchuk and Dziuba fought fiercely for the title of anti-hero of the time with the use of elbows. The former made a lovely delivery (more on that below), the latter missed once in four attempts (three shots were blocked, one missed), and the latter foolishly botched the penalty earned by Igor Smolnikov. in a duel with Spertsyan. The forward shot the ball from 11 meters as he did in the memorable Zenit game after the mythical video of him.
Photo source: FC Lokomotiv
YOUNG MAN, OUT!
However, Krasnodar over time adapted to such opposition and transferred the game to someone else’s half of the field. Submissions went into Ilya Lantratov’s penalty area and often reached their intended recipients. For example, Douglas Santos hit Cordoba over the head with an ideal canopy, but hit with an angle. He missed once, two, three, and ended with a natural goal. Spertsyan took a corner at the near post, while Junior Alonso broke away from Dziuba and sliced the ball into the opposite corner. This is the Paraguayan’s first goal for Krasnodar.
And shortly before the break, Herman Conti acquired a solid group of haters: he lost the power fight against Córdoba (and twice on a pass from the Colombian), lost his balance, jumped and ran under attack, but only led to an illegible rebound. from Lantratov – 0:2.
As a result, the first half turned out to be ambiguous. In general, the teams played on equal terms. Krasnodar had more possession of the ball, Loko hit more often and created chances, he had a penalty. But the guests did not allow themselves individual mistakes, and the hosts personally acted negligently in the episodes and were punished for it.
Photo source: FC Lokomotiv
GALAKTIONOV CHANGES THE GAME
How eventful the first half was, but the second half started no less fiery, with the long-awaited return goal from the hosts. Galaktionov’s substitutions worked, replacing Kamano and Miranchuk with Glushenkov and Rifat Zhemaletdinov.
From the outset, Pinyaev, who was forced to come out on the right, surprised the defenders with his appearance in the penalty area and put Barinova ahead at the second step. The midfielder Agkatsev miraculously repelled the blow, but straight to Volkov, from whom the ball jumped over the goal line. And four minutes later, Glushenkov boldly rushed into the penalty area against several opponents. The ball bounced off Dziuba, and he returned it to Glushenkov on heel contact, hitting Agkatsev from eight meters.
Photo source: FC Lokomotiv
Muscovites were greatly encouraged by this development. They began to get ahead of opponents in bouts and to outdo them in martial arts. And we have another advantage. Barinov met Christian Ramirez on the flank, and he, throwing the ball, collided with an opponent and hit him in the neck with his elbow. The Ecuadorian, who already had a yellow card, assessed the situation and fell to the grass, but it was no use: Kirill Levnikov waited for him to return and sent him off. Krasnodar remained in the minority.
DEJAVU FOR DZUBA
Ivic did not have time to react to the changes, and Lokomotiv had already taken the lead. It was Dziuba in a high jump with his head who finished the ball into the net from the bar after a deft shot from Barinov from the center of the penalty area. The irony is that in that much-talked about game in November 2020, Dzyuba also failed to score a penalty just before half-time and scored the game-winner in the second half. And you know what is the most incredible? His rivals were… Krasnodar.
But the game was not going to cool down on this either. Galaktionov did not draw any conclusions from the opponent’s error and did not replace any of the four cautioned players. But in vain. Smolnikov behaved in the most unprofessional way possible. Having a yellow one, he fell in love with the banal provocation of Kadi Borges and put his arms around her neck. All this happened in a positional fight away from the ball. So the lineups lined up. And only after that Galaktionov replaced Karpukas with Dmitry Zhivoglyadov.
Photo source: FC Lokomotiv
This intemperance by Smolnikov gave the Bulls a chance to save the game. And they honestly tried to use it, but they spent too much energy and emotion that night. Loko won in the spring in the third round in a row, Krasnodar still has one victory in the last six rounds.
RPL. twentieth round
Lokomotiv – Krasnodar – 3:2 (0:2)
Goals: J. Alonso, 29 – 0:1. Cordoba, 39 – 0:2. Volkov, 47 – in his own net – 1:2. Glushenkov, 51 – 2:2. Dzyuba, 65 – 3:2.
Missed penalty: Dziuba, 45 (goalkeeper).
Lokomotiv: Lantratov, Smolnikov, Konti, Kuzmichev, Tiknizyan, Karpukas (Zhivoglyadov, 74), Barinov, Miranchuk (Glushenkov, 46), Kamano (Zhemaletdinov, 46; Shchetinin, 84), Pinyaev, Dzyuba.
Krasnodar: Agkatsev, Volkov, Cayo, J. Alonso, Ramírez, Borges (Krivtsov, 85), Banyats (Chernikov, 68), Spertsyan, Olusegun (Batchy, 80), Kobnan (Petrov, 68), Córdoba.
Warnings: Kobnan, 16. Smolnikov, 21. Karpukas, 43. Tiknizyan, 45+5. Ramirez, 56. Zhemaletdinov, 61. Shchetinin, 87.
Retirement: Ramírez, 63 (2 lcd). Smolnikov, 72 (2 LCD).
Referee: Levnikov (Saint Petersburg).
