The Russian football season ended recently, but the fans were already missing their favorite teams, which are slowly starting to prepare for the new RPL draw. Today Zenit officially kicked off the new football year by playing its first match in the PARI Premier Cup. This year the tournament takes place in St. Petersburg, and in addition to the leader of our championship, the Serbian champion Crvena participates in it. Zvezda, Turkish championship silver medalist Fenerbahce and Azerbaijani championship bronze medalist Neftchi. It was with this team that the St. Petersburg team played in the first round of the tournament.
Zenit head coach Sergey Semak before the match with Neftchi noted that the break between the seasons this year is quite unusual, but at the same time his team will perform in full force, in the tournament matches we will be able to see the match of the club’s main team.
“There are difficulties associated with the fact that the break between seasons is not the same as always. During the tournament we will play with the optimal lineup. For us, this tournament is a great opportunity to play with good clubs. A year ago we played Crvena in Sochi: a great atmosphere, a good game. The same can be said about the match with Fenerbahce: we went to visit with great pleasure, we were well received, ”said Semak.
new to business
The main structure of “Zenith” in today’s game was as follows. The gate was occupied by newcomer to the team Nikita Goylo, who moved from Pari NN in the summer. In defense are Danil Krugovoi, Dmitry Chistyakov, Arsen Adamov, Vyacheslav Karavaev and Douglas Santos. Of the midfielders, another rookie Eduardo Queiroz, as well as Claudinho, Zelimkhan Bakaev and Andrey Mostovoy, got into the base. Ivan Sergeev was chosen as the only attacker.
In Neftchi, the main backbone of the team is represented by local players, but at the same time, the Croatian goalkeeper Ivan Brkich, the Russian defender Azer Aliyev, the French striker Kelan Lebon, as well as his partner in attack, the Brazilian Matheus Saldanya, they could stand out on the field.
start of the fight
Before the start of the match, the right to hit the ball first was awarded to one of the best mixed martial arts fighters in Russian history and former UFC champion Petr Yan. The MMA star appeared on the court and with a light and relaxed gait he made his way to the center circle, where he touched the ball to the applause of 18,000 fans gathered at the Gazprom Arena.
The start of the match itself was very smooth. The Zenit players themselves tried to play attacking combined football, but at the same time allowed the Azerbaijanis to show their game. “Neftchi” calmly left his half of the field without much resistance. In some places it seemed that the St. Petersburg team came to the match slightly tired. Obviously, such a short break between seasons had a negative impact on the team, most of the players simply did not have time to really recover.
they punished themselves
The exchange of sharp attacks did not lead to anything, the teams reached the gates of their rivals, but at the same time it rarely came to blows. The footballers of “Neftchi” could never break through the tight defense of the St. Petersburg team. But in the 38th minute, the guests had a great chance to open an account. Circular after a shot into the penalty area touched with one hand, and the referee without hesitation decided to signal an 11-meter shot.
The “Firmino Smoker” volunteered to play him, as he was baptized in the Match TV studio, Mateus Saldanha. The Brazilian, in the style of a former Liverpool player, took a break before hitting and dishing the ball and newly minted Zenit goalkeeper Nikita Goylo.
At the end of the half, the Russian team had a chance to level the score. Pitertsy literally piled up at the gates of rivals. First, the smug heel strike was repelled by goalkeeper Brkich, then he parried Karavaev’s header, and at the end of the attack Krugovoi hit the post.
brazilian hearts
At the beginning of the second half, Sergei Semak decided to radically change the game and released four new players onto the field. Goalkeeper Daniil Odoevsky and midfielders Alexei Sutormin, Alexander Erokhin and Gustavo Mantua. The last of this quartet managed to equalize the score four minutes later. Together with another Brazilian, Claudinho Mantua, they starred in a combination that led to a goal. Both players ran towards the camera during the dance celebration and clasped their hands in the shape of hearts.
young growth
In the first match of the friendly tournament, Semak decided to use several young students from the Zenit Academy. In the 63rd minute, 19-year-old midfielder Dmitry Vasilyev entered the field. He took Queiroz’s place. The young player proved his worth in just a few minutes.
Vasilyev rushed down the right flank, left behind two players from the Azerbaijan team, shot into the center of the penalty area, where, after a rebound, the ball flew to Claudinho. The Brazilian coldly took notice of his timing, sending the ball into the top right corner of the gate.
Birthday gift
In the 71st minute, the public was able to witness an interesting novelty in the PARI Premier Cup regulations. Now the teams have the right to make reverse substitutions during the matches. For the first time this rule was used by Zenit. Karavaev and Bakaev re-entered the field.
The latter celebrates his birthday today, and in the 80th minute he managed to score the third goal against Neftchi. The guests were cut right in the penalty area, Sutormin picked up the ball and gave the pass to Zelimkhan, who sent the ball into the high corner with a shot without problems. A great goal and a gift at the same time.
tragic end
The only thing that overshadowed the match was the injury to Neftchi goalkeeper Agil Mammadov. An unpleasant crash, already in added time in the second half, caused a forced substitution of Brkic. Let’s hope that everything goes well with the goalkeeper and he can return at the start of the new season.
Soccer is back with us.
As a result, the game ended with the score 3:1. According to Sovetsky Sport, Claudinho, author of Zenit’s second goal, was recognized as the best player of the match, but the game of Vasilyev and Mantua also stands out. Although the match between the Russian champions and the Azerbaijan national team did not turn out so brilliantly in terms of the quality of the game, we are glad that football is back on our screens. We will continue to follow the PARI Premier Cup and the preparation of other RPL teams for the season. And with that we say goodbye, thank you for being with us. Cheer only for football!
