Athletistic / Football. Yesterday in St. Petersburg the second leg of the Russian Cup between Zenit and CSKA took place. The second ticket to the main final of the tournament has been played. The game was expected to be brilliant and spectacular. But it didn’t work at all. It was anti-football in every concept.
CSKA came into this match with minimal turnover. “Zenith”, on the contrary, significantly updated its starting lineup. But even despite this, Zenit had more possession of the ball. The match was somewhat similar to the recent championship match. But then at least a few chances were created and a goal was scored in regulation time. None of this happened here.
Zenit attacked and attacked. He hung and hung. Pulled and pulled. But it was all useless. CSKA went on the defensive and fought back confidently. The army team was almost unable to create anything during the attack. Everything was destroyed due to a large number of defects in the transmissions. CSKA failed to take advantage of the best qualities of Chalov and Zabolotny. Often the ball didn’t even reach them.
CSKA’s lack of rotation played a cruel joke on Fedotov. If Torop was forced to leave the field due to an accident, all other injuries place an unnecessary burden on the body. The day before, many CSKA leaders spent 90 minutes in a difficult match against Zenit in the championship. Here they faced an equally difficult match against the same opponent.
Zenit have also been hit by injuries. Arthur was forced to replace him. The footballer was injured at the end of the first half and tried to hold out until the break so that the team did not have to lose a place for a substitute. But the injury took its toll and the footballer left the field before the half-time whistle. But Zenit decided not to lose their place with a substitute and finished the first half in the minority.
The injuries are the only thing memorable about this match. There wasn’t much football that night. Yesterday, two players made their debut for CSKA. A start in a match against Zenit to reach the Russian Cup final is strong. In addition, the debut of goalkeeper Shaikhutdinov is interesting. Fedotov sent to the field in place of Torop a young goalkeeper without a first team appearance, in place of Igor Akinfeev, who was in the lineup and on the bench at that time. Apparently, something is still wrong with Igor. But the match was held in such a way that Shaikhutdinov did not even have to help the team. Zenit simply didn’t create anything. The young goalkeeper only had the opportunity to prove himself during the penalty shootout. But the Zenit players confidently beat him in all their attempts.
Zabolotny’s missed penalty will remain the highlight of this match. There is nothing else to take away from this match. That’s not how they play football. In the first semi-final, Spartak, although losing to Baltika, created many chances. The red and whites looked good and played some good football. This match was interesting to watch and its moments remained etched in the memory of the fans. Here, apart from injuries and Zabolotny’s penalty, there was nothing. This is a mockery to everyone who watched this match. Furthermore, I wish health to all the players injured yesterday. We wish you a speedy recovery and a return to the field.
Daniil Chugunov, Sport.Ru
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.
