Towards the end of the first part of the season, the “red-whites” got into excellent shape: in the last three meetings, Serbian Dejan Stankovic’s team scored nine points with a goal difference of 8-0. In the game with Akron, Spartak left virtually no chance for the Premier League debutants, although the Tolyatti team can sometimes surprise the giants. But not this time.
– Even before the match, I said that the team was ready for challenges. The defeat in the Cup to Rostov (0:1) in the middle of the week did not affect us at all. Against Akron, the guys showed an excellent attitude from the first to the last minute. Well done,” Stankovic said.
The Red-Whites beat Paris Nizhny Novgorod with a score of 2:0 and CSKA, and then defeated Akron at home – 4:0
It is all the more surprising that it was after such a match that Spartak announced the resignation of the club’s sports director, Portuguese Tomas Amaral, who had worked in his post for just under a year. According to the general director of the “red-whites” Oleg Malyshev, the management was dissatisfied with the summer transfers.
– The decision was made a few days ago. I would like to thank Amaral. “I’m not saying this for the sake of politeness or formality – he made several successful purchases, but the club is not fully satisfied with the summer transfer window,” Malyshev said.
The current national champion Zenit won the hardest victory in Grozny: the St. Petersburg team defeated Akhmat (2:1) thanks to goals from Colombian Mateo Cassierra and Brazilian Gustavo Mantuan. Arsen Adamov scored for the hosts.
– The game started poorly for us: we missed a quick goal, but then we reacted correctly and scored two good goals. As for the second half, here “Akhmat” already went forward with large forces and had a territorial advantage. Unfortunately, we were unable to use the space that we had for quick counterattacks. They could have won even more, but the opponent could have evened the score. We lacked a little freshness and movement, the field was difficult. However, I’m glad that on such a difficult evening we scored three points,” said Zenit coach Sergei Semak.
Well, one of the main discoveries of the first round was Lokomotiv. Over the weekend, the “red-greens” defeated Fakel Voronezh at home (2:1) and guaranteed themselves a place in the top 3 at the end of the round.
It’s unlikely that anyone expected such a successful performance from a club that lost several leaders in the summer. And the representatives of “Lokomotiv” themselves, be it the team’s head coach Mikhail Galaktionov or captain Dmitry Barinov, did not hide: it will be difficult for the “railroad workers” in the new season. But the first lap is behind us, and the Muscovites are not slowing down.
Special mention should be made of Alexey Batrakov. The graduate of the Lokomotiv club academy in a short period of time made fans forget about the sale of Maxim Glushenkov to Zenit and the departure of Anton Miranchuk. Right now, 19-year-old Batrakov is the brightest player in the Premier League. He not only provides assists, but also scores. So against “Fakel”, both goals of the “red-greens” were scored by Alexey, who has 19 (11+8) points in 19 meetings of the season. Batrakov is the championship’s top scorer (ten goals).
– Batrakov is now the best Russian player, he is very bright. Despite his size and age, Lesha plays very good football. “I admire him,” Nair Tiknizyan, one of the leaders of Lokomotiv, does not hide his emotions. – At the same time, Batrakov is a young guy, it is important not to overpraise him. However, we must give him his due: he has no problems with mentality. It’s great that we have such a guy.
As for Lokomotiv as a whole, the red-greens repeated the club record for the championship season in 2002, gaining 35 points in the opening 15 rounds of the Premier League.
– Remember what I said before the season: the team will definitely be organized, physically ready and disciplined. This is what is happening now. The question then becomes: are guys capable of making a difference? The answer is yes, they can. The most important thing is the microclimate inside. Everyone, without exception, is united by a single goal. We have no intrigues, investigations, no nuances that can undermine our unity,” Lokomotiv helmsman Mikhail Galaktionov emphasized at a press conference.
Finally, in the final match of the first round, Premier League leader Krasnodar played a fighting draw away with Rubin Kazan (1:1). Serbian Nikola Cumic scored for the hosts, and Alexander Chernikov scored for the guests. Thus, the series of 11 matches of the southerners in the national championship was interrupted.
Meanwhile
Atlanta United, for which Russian national team midfielder Alexei Miranchuk plays, knocked out Inter Miami, with the great Argentinean Lionel Messi in the lineup, from the MLS playoffs (the highest division of football leagues in Canada and the USA – RG note).
Miranchuk’s team, thanks to Alexey’s assist, beat Inter in the third match of the 1/8 finals of the MLS playoffs – 3:2. The score in the best-of-three series was 2-1 in Atlanta’s favor. By the way, Messi himself scored one goal in the last meeting.
Now Atlanta and Miranchuk will play in the semifinals of the Eastern Conference with Orlando. The winner of this pair will be determined based on the results of one match – on the Orlando field. In another semi-final match, New York City will face off against the New York Red Bulls.
Source: rg.ru
