They all freeze!
WHERE IS THE PROMISED SAND?!
The ways of Russian party organizers are inscrutable. On Wednesday night in Moscow, the temperature dropped to minus 15, but the derby still took place. The question is not in the specific regulations or indicators of the thermometer, but in general in banal logic.
If in the past the sports director of the RPL, Viktor Pyshkin, showed the schedule to journalists and responded to all complaints about the dates of the matches: “Show me where you propose to move… (such and such) game” , Now, in the absence of European cups and busy iron selection, no need to start was not in the bitter cold. But the game was still scheduled for February, and even a few hours before kickoff, they wondered if it would take place.
At the same time, they were all losers in this match. The fans froze in the stands. The same fans that everyone seems to be playing for. The footballers were freezing on the field. Especially lamenting in the first half, the “Spartak” goalkeeper Alexander Maksimenko, in the absence of attacks on his possessions, risked something to freeze.
Commentators argued that the “feeling of minus 22” stated in the weather reports completely matched their personal impressions.
The oak grass interfered with the normal game, causing a large number of marriages, especially at the end of the game.
That is, everyone who came to Cherkizovo that night was very frozen and watched football of a lower quality than they could see. So who is this for?
And also. When a healthy transition to the autumn-spring system itself took place (and this happened already 11 years ago, in the 2011/12 season), there were many promises to each club to build an indoor arena and make stadiums more comfortable for the fans. spectators, but the “Winter” stadium is still only in “Zenith”. And instead of investing in infrastructure, the clubs simply send players to all sorts of Antalya and Abu Dhabi, and the fans, who are now still forced to issue Fan-IDs, continue to suffer in the stands.
When will the phrase “football for fans” acquire a real meaning, but ritual?
SPARTAKO STYLE IMPORT SUBSTITUTION
However, if we return directly to the game with the ball, it must first be noted that the teams did not leave a solid impression. In principle, it is normal when one team looks better in the first half and the second in the second. For example, yesterday we saw the same thing in Leipzig, where Manchester City did not let their opponents raise their heads before the break, and then sat in the trenches waiting for the final whistle. And no one says that two weak teams played.
However, it is worth recognizing that in the first half, Spartak was far ahead of the hosts: faster, better played, more specific. He really combined brilliantly, as far as the lack of normal playing practice and the quality of the pitch allowed, he moved the ball forward very well. The players skillfully adjusted to each other and, a particularly vivid impression, all the time took positions in such a way that the owner of the ball always had a couple of recipients, and there were applicants for all rebounds and rebounds. No matter how the game turned out, there was always a Spartak player around to join the rebound or force a fight on the opponent. And all this was done mainly by young Russian footballers, because at the base (they write that for the first time in the 21st century) there was not a single legionnaire. All this is very cool.
It’s unclear where it all went after the break. Loko really increased in movement, but not enough to lock the guests in his half of the field. Spartacus for some reason refused the ball and relied only on counterattacks. In fact, such tactics also have the right to life, because a skilled team can punish the opponent more than once or twice in this style. And the reds and whites are very good when escaping into space.
Just yesterday, these counterattacks didn’t quite work for them, and Quincy Promes, who hadn’t trained with the team for a month and a half, who came on as a substitute, was left alone. As Andrei Tikhonov pointed out, after the Dutchman left, Spartak had half a player less, but the same can be said of Christopher Martins, who left for the first time after injury. When they get fit, Guillermo Abascal’s team will add more, but yesterday they were shackles on the gladiators’ legs.
As a result, the guests frankly rallied at the end: Artem Dzyuba constantly hit the post and over the empty net, and Vladislav Bezborodov disallowed Stanislav Magkeev’s goal due to the offside position of Francois Camano.
MIRANCHUK NEEDS TO START
Loko also left a double impression. In the first half, there were almost no teams on the field. You deserve a discount for this. Still, this is a remarkably updated team, at the heart of which Ilya Lantratov, Igor Smolnikov, Sergey Pinyaev and Dziuba made their debut, and Maxim Glushenkov also came on as a replacement.
At first, the players did not have enough mutual understanding and pressed against the gate, which did not correspond to the coach’s settings at all. As Nair Tiknizyan said during the match, Mikhail Galaktionov did not even demand to give the opponent the ball. It just didn’t work to get it under control. But after the break with the release of clever playmaker Anton Miranchuk, another game began. The railwaymen were very close to the return goal.
The changes in the game with the release of Miranchuk are also indicative in the sense that they became a clear confirmation that the trio of central midfielders Dmitry Barinov – Artem Karpukas – Daniil Kulikov (he was replaced by Miranchuk) lacks a creator. Yes, they are all skilled players (Barinov generally had a great match), but they are more focused on destruction than organization of attacks. And only three of these players in the middle of the field – bust.
Well, and the main conclusion from what he saw: Lokomotiv with such a lineup should not fight for survival. There are many reasons to believe that this issue will be resolved well before the end of the season.
DZYUBA WILL BE A STAR AGAIN
A few players are worth mentioning personally. Spartak liked the surprisingly stubborn Pavel Meleshin and mobile Danil Prutsev in the first half. And not because he scored the only goal, but because of the amount of work he did and the large area he kept, because he had at his disposal not only the midfield, but also the inside right position, where he fell regularly. I’m sure of the coach’s instructions.
In Loko, of course, Dziuba turned heads. He can erase the first half of life, but even then he managed a good discount on Barinov. And in the second, he was able to compare the score twice. This shows that no matter what form he is in, due to his size, skill and desire to fight and experiment, he will be the main attacking force for Lokomotiv. The main thing is that the team equalizes him and regularly hands him the ball in the penalty area.
And in conclusion, a few words about Pinyaev. The 18-year-old has just made his debut with the railwaymen and already at his age he is one of the most outstanding players in the RPL. He only wish you progress and success. At the same time, the last game clearly showed that the midfielder does not (yet) possess any supernatural abilities. He is fast and technical, but these qualities must be able to find the right application. Therefore, questions about “a player of this caliber who finished in the Russian championship”, which were asked before the game on the air of a federal TV channel, should be put aside. After Dmitry Sychev, Marat Izmailov and Alan Dzagoev, who burst into Russian football like a whirlwind, but did not justify even half of the broadcast trailers, praising young people is simply unworthy.
