Gift game
The Russian Championship is not won, but lost. This has already been said several times. And it looks like we’re witnessing the most revealing story of this season.
It wasn’t long ago that championship intrigue was buried and buried. After Zenit’s victory over Krasnodar, it seemed that the competitors from St. Petersburg no longer had any chances. But they suffered, quite unexpectedly, a double series of defeats. First, Zenit unexpectedly lost to Rubin, then in the 26th round they also lost to Dynamo (0:1).
It got to the point that after the match, the chairman of the board of directors of Zenit, Alexander Medvedev, promised to have a serious conversation with the players. There are reasons for dissatisfaction.
And Dynamo, after this victory, also returned to the championship race. From now on, the Muscovites are only three points behind the leaders. And this despite the fact that in the last six matches the Blue and White have already suffered three defeats!
“Krasnodar” also embarked on a gift game, which could bypass “Zenith”. But the southerners were unable to beat Krylya Sovetov (0:0). Moreover, the Samara team was even closer to victory. And here we must say “thank you” to Sergei Volkov, who received two yellow cards, leaving Krasnodar in the minority in the second half.
The top 3 now has incredible density. Zenit, Krasnodar and Dynamo are in the race!
Slishkovic continues to surprise
Spartak bosses find themselves in a difficult situation. After the dismissal of Guillermo Abascal, Vladimir Sliskovich took over the reins, and as he did! The four-game unbeaten streak, which included matches against Zenit, CSKA and Lokomotiv, is impressive. In the 26th round, the Red and Whites beat Lokomotiv (3:2) and took fourth place.
According to rumors, Spartak does not consider Sliskovich as a candidate for the position of permanent head coach of Spartak. But if the team continues to show such results, it will be difficult to abandon the coach.
Ignashevich beat CSKA
Baltika played an impressive match in the 26th round, beating CSKA at home with a score of 3:1. Army legend Sergei Ignashevich, who coaches Baltika, managed to unpleasantly surprise his former club. CSKA is not at all impressive, and experts are increasingly saying that Muscovites should change coaches and call… Ignashevich.
In the last six matches, Baltika has won four victories. But for now, the fight to maintain RPL enrollment continues. Residents of Nizhny Novgorod are found only in the junction zone.
Yuran – that’s it!
Pari NN also joined the fight for survival. Nizhny Novgorod, which had been in the top half of the rankings for some time, suffered its sixth defeat in a row. This time, Pari NN lost heavily to its direct competitor Akhmat (1:5).
The situation became so critical that the club decided to change coaches. Sergei Yuran left the team, while Anton Khazov will work with her. The situation is really critical: there are only three points left in the relegation zone.
Sochi, it seems too
The most important match of the 26th round took place in Sochi, where “Sochi” and “Fakel” were killed. Igor Cherevchenko’s first match as head coach of the Voronezh team ended in a 0:0 draw. For Sochi, it is almost a death sentence. In the end, with such a score, even the home goalkeeper went ahead, running towards a corner. But that didn’t help.
A draw leaves the southerners almost no chance. With 20 points, they are at the bottom of the table and six points from the play-off zone. “Fakel” scored 27 points and rose to 12th place. The whole struggle for survival is yet to come.
Anton Mozgovoy, Athletistic
Source: Sport
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
