“Zenit”, “Spartak” and CSKA won and advanced to the playoffs of the Russian Cup from first place –

Zenit class

From a tournament point of view, the match in Voronezh had no significance. Zenit had already guaranteed itself first place, and Fakel could not hope to continue playing in the tournament even if it defeated the current Russian Cup holder. Even though in the penultimate round Dmitry Pyatibratov’s team beat third-placed Rubin, they were inferior to Kazan in terms of goal difference. And in any case, they ended up below them in the table.

The St. Petersburg team actually took to the field with one and a half squad and performed somewhat below their level, at times allowing too much to their opponents. And they themselves created very little, although none other than Alexander Sobolev, acquired from Spartak, came to the forefront. But at a key moment the notorious class difference emerged. A series of mistakes in the opposing half of the field led to a lightning-fast counterattack on the hosts’ goal. Pedro dragged the ball into the opponent’s area and rolled it to Alexander Erokhin, who easily dealt with Vitaly Gudiev.

The Voronezh team did not lose heart and after the break did not give up trying to please their fans. Vladislav Masternoy, who volleyed, missed an excellent chance; Evgeniy Markov fired powerfully, after which he accidentally blocked Nikolai Giorgobiani’s dangerous shot. Subsequently, the forward had several more chances, but failed to succeed. As did Alexey Kashtanov, who came on as a substitute, and in the last RPL round he scored a double for Akhmat. In the end, the hosts went all-in, but the arrival of corner goalkeeper Gudiev also did not bring dividends. In total, “Fakel” made nine shots on goal, but failed to take Denis Adamov by surprise. Zenit defended confidently and gained the upper hand – 1:0.

Zorin’s goal and removal

Like Zenit, Spartak has already guaranteed itself a ticket to the playoffs of the RPL Path of the Russian Cup. But his meeting with Dynamo promised to become much more intense. Dejan Stankovic’s team probably wanted to break the winless streak in a head-to-head confrontation, but the Makhachkala team were not without motivation. After all, they still had a chance to overtake their teammates from Moscow and take second place in Quartet A. And for the likelihood of this to become a little higher, they needed to take three points at their home stadium.

Despite the absence of Dejan Stankovic, who missed the match due to disqualification, the Muscovites started quite well and made several forays into the opponent’s penalty area. But very quickly it became extremely clear which team was more determined to win. The Makhachkala team seized the initiative and began to lay siege to the opponent’s goal, but things didn’t get to the point. And when the owners finally “straightened their shoulders,” an extremely controversial episode occurred. In the 36th minute, Daniil Zorin rushed forward and was knocked down by Ilya Kirsh, who rushed across. And although the defender had no clear intention to break the rules, and they could have easily backed him up, chief referee Pavel Shadykhanov regarded this as “deprivation of an obvious opportunity to score” and took a red card from his pocket. And after that, the situation on the field changed dramatically.

Already at the end of the first half, Spartak began to act as the first number, and at the beginning of the second half they opened the scoring. Roman Zobnin broke into the opponent’s area and performed a penetrating pass to the same Zorin. Daniil calmly sorted out the episode and upset Timur Magomedov, after which the game noticeably calmed down. Although Dynamo tried to attack, and Khasanbi Bidzhiev even threw into battle the trio of main forwards in the persons of Hamid Agalarov, Egash Kasintura and Abakar Gadzhiev, they failed to make life difficult for Alexander Selikhov.

“Spartak” could “realize the majority” several more times. But Magomed worked miracles, who first pulled the blow of Jesus Medina from a lethal position, and then Alexis Duarte. But Zorin suddenly revived the intrigues. At the beginning of the second half, he received the first yellow card, and five minutes before the end of regular time, the second one was punished. And he equalized the lineups, giving Dynamo the opportunity to once again take points from the capital. But they failed to take advantage of it and remained in third place in the group – 0:1.

Pjanic’s pass and the end of Koit’s dry streak

The most intriguing match was at the VEB Arena. Unlike the previous two, in Quartet C three teams continued to fight for first place, and the army team leading after five rounds also risked losing their ticket to the upper bracket of the Russian Cup playoffs. In case of defeat, they let Akhmat advance, and a day later they could find themselves lower than Krasnodar. And the likelihood of this was extremely high, because the “bulls” had to measure their strength with the struggling Pari NN.

On paper, CSKA looked like a clear favorite, because they were hosting a team that had not won a single victory in the current RPL season. However, in the Cup, the Grozny team looked more than serious and had nine points to their name, and in the fifth round they sent three unanswered goals against Krasnodar itself. However, the Muscovites looked better in the opening and almost opened the scoring in the second minute. The hosts drew up an excellent combination – it was started by Miralem Pjanic, who started it, and it fell to Sekou Koita to complete it. But the ball ricocheted from Giorgi Shelia and hit the crossbar.

But already in the 34th minute the Bosnian and Malian still organized a goal. Pjanic passed the corner to Koita, who was lurking near the edge of the penalty area, and he fired irresistibly into touch. And for the first time he distinguished himself for CSKA, breaking a dry streak of 14 matches. It is all the more offensive for the Grozny residents that shortly before this, Maxim Samorodov only miraculously did not take Vladislav Torop by surprise. The striker responded to the cutting pass and took out both the goalkeeper and Milan Gaich with one swing, but Igor Diveev saved the red and blue in a desperate tackle.

Akhmat did not give up trying to restore parity after the break. True, the danger mainly came from standard provisions. Lukas Lovat fired just above the crossbar, and a sharp edge arose after Daniil Utkin’s cross. But still, it was CSKA that was closer to success when Kristijan Bistrovich almost headed in Saul Guarirapa’s cross. The Grozny team continued to cover the opponent’s area with crosses until the very end, but they never reached the goal. The army team won and guaranteed themselves first place in the group – 1:0.