Until recently, Zenit seemed head and shoulders above all its RPL competitors. It started with four wins in a row and looked very strong. But then came two draws, one of which was with Khimki. The rout of Pari NN can be called a must-see.
However, in the eighth round, the Petersburgers faced an extremely difficult test in the form of an away match with CSKA. The army team has become an inconvenient opponent for them in recent years. For example, in the national championship, the blue-white-blues have not beaten them since August 2022. If we take into account the cup competitions, the series without victories in regular time stretched to six matches. In the game for the Super Cup in 2023 and the semi-final of the Russian Cup-2023/24, Sergei Semak's charges were stronger only in the penalty shootout.
In addition, Maxim Glushenkov, who broke his arm, did not have time to return to the team. Plus, defender Sergei Volkov received a serious knee injury.
As a result, the visitors were not afraid to throw two famous newcomers into the fight at once - Luciano Gonda and Alexander Sobolev. They formed a powerful attacking trio with Mateo Cassierra. And if the Argentinean managed to debut in Nizhny Novgorod and even scored a double, then the Russian only took part in a friendly match with Kairat. Otherwise, the staff of the current champions did without surprises. And Volkov's place on the right side of defense was expectedly taken by Vyacheslav Karavaev.
But the Muscovites did not know any losses. Moreover, literally on the eve of the match they took Saul Guarirapa on loan from Sochi. But the Venezuelan predictably remained in reserve. But Danil Krugovoy, who moved to CSKA from Zenit in the summer, not without scandal, came out on the field from the first minutes.
Despite the score, the opening half was not the most successful for the visitors. The hosts immediately turned on high pressure and did not allow their opponents to organize their own attacks. In particular, Abbosbek Fayzullaev acted aggressively on the left side, covering several throw-ins. Therefore, Vilmar Barrios had to regularly drop down to play the ball back.
The army men shot at every opportunity, but too often tried to upset Yevgeny Latyshonok from a long distance. Rifat Zhemaletdinov was especially zealous in this. Once he almost sent the ball into the far corner from 25 meters. But such shots generally lacked accuracy.
Signature set pieces were no less dangerous. Thus, after one of them, Sasha Zdelar shot slightly higher from within the penalty area. In positional attacks, Marko Nikolic's charges most often tried to make a hole in the opponent's defense through the left flank. Krugovoy, who was eager to upset his former team, also constantly rose here.
But nothing worked out for the Petersburgers. Firstly, this was due to a large number of lost battles. The red-blues simply did not allow their opponents to cling to the ball. Secondly, Wendel and Claudino looked weak. Thirdly, the three forwards were left on a starvation diet and were effectively cut off from their partners.
For example, Sobolev was remembered only for a tough clash with Willian Rocha, after which he took a couple of minutes to recover. And Cassierra completely disappeared on the non-specialized left flank.
All the more unexpected was Zenit's goal shortly before the break, which was completely out of line with the game's logic. Given the presence of three tall forwards, it is no surprise that success came from a simple pass. Douglas dos Santos crossed from the left side, and Gondu, ahead of Moises, sent the ball into the goal.
Thus, the Argentinean has scored his third goal in his second official match as part of the current champions of Russia. If we take into account the friendly match with Kairat, there are already five of them.
It seemed that after such a half Semak would remove one of the forwards. However, this did not happen. Instead, he unexpectedly removed Barrios. Perhaps this was due to an injury, or perhaps to the yellow card the Colombian received. Nuraly Alip came onto the field instead, forming a trio of central defenders with Nino and Strahinja Erakovic.
This step fully justified itself. Now the army men had practically no opportunity to escape to free zones, as before the break. As a result, Fayzullaev and Musaev became much less noticeable.
The dangerous moments could be counted on the fingers of one hand. For example, Zdelar decided to take another long-range shot, but missed the target. But a little later, Sobolev, in the hustle and bustle at the gate, almost accidentally cut the ball under the crossbar. Latyshonok saved his teammates.
After an hour, the newcomer was replaced by Alexander Erokhin to the deafening whistles of the stands. Unfortunately, he cannot put the debut confrontation down as an asset. The forward made only 20 touches of the ball, made only ten passes and did not make a single shot on the opponent's goal. The only plus is that he won three aerial duels.
With Cassierra's move to his usual position as a central striker, the blue-white-blues' counterattacks began to look sharper. And the top scorer of last season's RPL almost put the finishing touches. Taking advantage of Karavaev's cross from the right side, he headed the ball straight at Akinfeev from the goal line.
But Nikolic's castling didn't work. First, he tried to refresh the right flank by throwing in Kellven and Sekou Koite. But both, although they tried, did not make a decisive difference. Then Guarirapa debuted in the red-blue roster. He looked good, but he lacked mutual understanding with his teammates.
At the end, referee Alexey Sukhoy drew attention to himself. Alip took the ball away from Moises in his own half and then shouted something at him. A mass brawl almost broke out. The Kazakhstani and Brazilian each saw a yellow card. Oblyakov and Nino were then given yellow cards. Moreover, Nikolic, who could not control his emotions, was also punished.
And by the second half, despite the long pause, the referee added only four minutes. It was not possible to organize a final assault on Latyshonok's possessions. The only memorable episode was when the goalkeeper, just in case, diverted the ball to a corner after Musayev's pass.
Thus, Semak's team won their first victory over CSKA in regulation time in two years and retained their lead in the table. And Latyshonok kept their possessions intact in the seventh meeting in the current national championship.
