“Zenith” did not hold out in first place even in the round! Loko sent three rubles to the guests.
Anatoly Romanov December 3, 2023, 19:14 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
The champion was condemned by the standards of Galaktionov’s team and by the mistake of his own goalkeeper.
Zenit remained among the championship leaders for only one day. After losing to Lokomotiv, the St. Petersburg team once again lost first place to Krasnodar. This is the intrigue in the RPL!
The start of the match was delayed by half an hour due to heavy snowfall in Moscow. The holding of the match between the teams of Mikhail Galaktionov (he watched football from the stands due to disqualification) and Sergei Semak was in doubt, but if the snow show with the participation of CSKA and Rostov was not canceled, then this meeting was It is especially not worth postponing. The Russian Railways Arena field, thanks also to the film that covered it, was in fairly good condition. That is why Zenit did not abandon its style, ball control and multi-move combinations, contrary to Semak’s words that in such conditions the game would be simplified. Let’s attribute it to the “little football tricks” typical of the coach of the Russian champion.
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Zenit gained a great territorial advantage from the beginning and controlled the ball approximately 70% of the time. He was aiming for Lantratov’s goal, but Loko scored with the first shot! It turned out to be one of the most curious goals of the RPL season. After Glushenkov’s corner kick, the slippery ball, unexpectedly for Kerzhakov, dived under the near post, hit the ground and flew off the blue and white goalkeeper’s body into the net. A 100% error by Kerzhakov, which could have been avoided with other weather conditions.
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Zenit had difficulties opening Lokomotiv’s defense, which closed the center and the mid-wings as much as possible. Former railway striker Izidor acted inappropriately and did not take advantage of the opportunities available, although he made five of his 15 touches on the ball during the half in the home area and shot twice. By the way, former Zenit striker Dzyuba, who came out with the captain’s armband due to Barinov’s disqualification, also had nothing to boast about at half-time (only one touch in the Kerzhakov area, 0 shots). In the end, the Saint Petersburg team’s return goal came from the wing. Erakovic supported the attack on the right, took Silyanov off his shoulders and fired a perfect cross at the goalkeeper. The RPL’s top scorer, Cassierra, scored his 13th goal in the championship with a header, skillfully opening between Fasson and Nenakhov. Lantratov was unlikely to intercept.
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Semak’s tactical move also helped Zenit recover. The coach reorganized the team during the match, abandoning the 3-5-2 system. Douglas Santos moved to midfield, Krugovoy moved from the right flank to his usual left and Erakovic simply became a pure right back with more attacking duties. After the break, the game became more even and Galaktionov’s headquarters took the next step. True, forced. Karpukas was unexpectedly injured and was replaced by Miranchuk. And just four minutes later, Anton made the free kick assist! The railwaymen acted calmly and Glushenkov brilliantly executed a header with his back to the goal.
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In the second half, Zenit’s new system did not work very well. Only after 20 minutes of the match did Semak’s team manage to score Lantratov’s goal. Loko’s players effectively kept the champion away from his goal, although Pinyaev once went too far in the selection. With some type of martial arts technique, the young winger stopped Claudinho. Pinyaev was very lucky that the judge only showed him a yellow card and not a red one.
In the end, Semak removed both Claudinho and the dissolved Izidor from the field, whose transfer to Zenit raises more and more doubts. He released Fernández, who had recovered from his injury, and then Mostovoy. The blue and white finished the game with three defenders and fresh wings. Only in the 86th minute did Zenit shoot on goal for the first time in this half, and even that shot from Alip was not terrible for Lantratov. And Loko finished off the champion at the end, causing a rival to make a mistake when pressing in his field. How did the Loko coaches get it right when they did not remove Dziuba from the game, although the captain was also somehow lost on the field? But it was Artyom who, with his second touch in Kerzhakov’s penalty area in today’s match, gave a cool and subtle assist.
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And Tiknizyan, originally from St. Petersburg, as in the first round match in his hometown, became the author of the last and decisive blow. In the second half, Loko definitely deserved the victory.
