Zenit continues a series of friendly matches with Red Star – the champions of Russia and Serbia are united by a common sponsor – Gazprom. During the last season, the Belgrade team flew to our country for two meetings with Sergei Semak’s team. In Sochi, the blue and white won 2-1, and in Saint Petersburg, 3-1. In the summer of 2023, in the preseason tournament, Red Star took revenge, winning at the Gazprom Arena 2-1. Now the friendly rivals faced each other in the Serbian capital at the legendary local Maracana (Rajko Mitic stadium).
Zenit and Red Star, of course, played without playbooks. The St. Petersburg team sent Erakovic to the Serbian team, in addition, Alip went to Kazakhstan, Cassierra to Colombia, and Sergeev and Mostov to the Russian team. It is true that the latter returned early due to injury, but in any case they did not count on him in Belgrade. Also, for some reason the RPL leader’s request did not include goalkeeper Adamov, Barrios and Claudinho.
Before the match, the St. Petersburg club made a statement on its Telegram channel, publishing a post on the topic of the tragedy that occurred the day before in the Russian capital:
“For fans of clubs and teams, this is a match of memory and unity. Football unites and saves, that is why the match will take place and begin with a minute of silence. Teams will play with mourning bracelets. We grieve along with everyone affected by the terrible tragedy at Crocus Town Hall.
Meanwhile, Zenit players and coaching staff visited the Church of Saint Sava in Belgrade, met with its rector and paid tribute to the memory of the victims. Red Star fans also prepared a special event: there were Russian flags on the stands, a banner appeared with the inscription “Moscow 22.03. We are in mourning.” And the main surprise: before the opening whistle, a local singer performed “Katyusha”.
Semak did not change the usual 4-3-3 formation. Kerzhakov played in goal, in the defensive line there was the quartet of Karavaev – Rodrigao – Nino – Douglas Santos, in the center of the field there was the triangle of Akhmetov – Kovalenko – Erokhin, and in the attack there was the Mantuan trio. – Pedro – Isidoro with the Frenchman in front. The striker, on loan from Lokomotiv, had a good and rare opportunity to prove his worth in the first team thanks to the departure of Cassierra and Sergeev. But I can’t say that I used it successfully. In the first half, Izidor had the opportunity to shoot from a lethal position after a cross from the active Mantuan, but former Krasnodar defender Spaich took the ball from his foot at the last second. By the way, as part of Red Star several former RPL legionnaires took to the field: Spajic, Kanga and Rodic, who played for Zenit.
For a friendly match, the pace of the game was quite high, probably also due to the atmosphere in the stands: the match attracted about 40 thousand fans, including a hundred fans from St. Petersburg. There just weren’t enough scoring opportunities. The team’s defenders won the majority of opportunities against the opponent’s attackers. For example, Nino, a newcomer to Zenit, on several occasions confronted the local striker Ndiaye so forcefully that the Senegalese named Sheriff felt like a trapped gangster. One day I had difficulty getting up from the grass.
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With a more or less equal game, the first half, according to the shot statistics, was also tied – 4:4 (on goal – 1:1). However, the Serbs were closer to scoring. In the opening of the match, the referee did not call a penalty against Zenit at 50-50, and before the break, only a great save by Kerzhakov saved the St. Petersburg team from conceding a goal after a killer shot by Knezhevich. position. We failed the attack on our right wing and allowed the center to reach the center of the area.
After the break, almost all of Zenit’s substitutes came out of the Russian champion’s shortstop: Wendel, Fernández and goalkeeper Vasyutin. Pedro left the field among others. The 18-year-old Brazilian supertalent didn’t have much to remember in Belgrade. There was an episode in which he made a bad decision in a promising counterattack: he shot from the center of the field, trying to pass the ball over the goalkeeper’s neck. But it turned out really bad.
At the beginning of the second half, Zenit was looking for itself and, when an hour had passed, those from Saint Petersburg, as if they had an order, produced a powerful segment. First Erokhin shook the crossbar, and in the next attack Izidor hit the post after a solo pass. In addition, Alexander, judging by the replay, scored a goal, completing a combination with a touch shot between Akhmetov and Karavaev, which moved to the left flank. The ball successfully bounced and completely crossed the goal line. However, the referee doubted it and the VAR did not work in the friendly match.
A quarter of an hour before the end of the match, Semak had to make a reverse change, since all possible ones had already been made. Fernández was injured and could not continue the match. Pedro is back in the game. Shortly after, Red Star scored. The ball in the Zenit area, without success for the blue and white, bounced off the young defender Cherny, and Akhmetov did not block Knezhevich’s shot.
Zenit could not avoid defeat, although in the second half they even surpassed Red Star in shots (6:5, 2:1 on goal). The last opportunity was wasted by Mantuan, who was very worried about the untapped opportunity and, excited, hit himself in the head with the ball several times. The Serbian champion won again in a “brotherly sparing” against the Russian champion.
