The unequal division of the 20th round - three matches on Saturday versus five on Sunday - did not equal the importance of the games. For the most important events (in terms of tournament intrigue) took place precisely on Saturday. This is partly due to the calendar, partly to the situation in the Premier League table. The domestic football pleases the last four rounds with meetings, to which it is customary to glue the label “super”.
The definition - a match of the tour - is no longer able to convey all importance. For four weeks only contenders for medals played among themselves: the 17th round - Spartak Moscow - Spartak Nalchik, the 18th - CSKA Moscow Spartak, the 19th Lokomotiv - and again the capital Spartak ", tour of the 20th - CSKA - Lokomotiv. At the same time, the Nalchik “Spartak” partially fell out of this clip. The reason for this is the unsuccessful results of the debutants of the Premier League in recent games. According to the law of conservation of matter, its place was taken by St. Petersburg “Zenith” - a team that cannot be ignored lately. From the moment Dick Advocaat came to the leadership of the club, the blue-white-blue never lost. Nevertheless, with now direct competitors, Zenit has yet to meet. Despite the fact that the capital's clubs - applicants for medals, have already played their games among themselves this season.
The results of the previous round (primarily the draw of the metropolitan Lokomotiv and Spartak and the victory of CSKA in Tomsk) aroused mixed feelings. CSKA got a rather unsteady, but still an advantage of four points over the closest competitor. Many football fans and theorists have spoken about a possible early championship title for the team of Valery Gazzayev. The opposite point of view also appeared: they say that everything is just beginning. To resolve this simple argument, a 20th round was required. Another CSKA derby - Lokomotiv gave a clear answer in favor of a second opinion. CSKA lost, and the fans of the current champion, the game left an unpleasant aftertaste. The first half CSKA played from the defense, which did not correspond to the host status. “Locomotive”, perfectly understanding the price of a possible loss or even a draw, immediately indicated the seriousness of intentions. Dmitry Sychev's goal in the 20th minute after a solid transfer of Bilyaletdinov became the first in this match. The goal scored corresponded to the situation on the field: the dominant railroad earned it. The response of the Gazzayev team followed 16 minutes later. The head coach of the army released to replace the second striker Wagner Love (initially the lone Olic acted in the attack), and CSKA immediately knew the success. The goal was on account of Dudu. CSKA did not rejoice for long - after just three minutes, “Loco” Izmaylova efforts again came forward. The railway workers were able to keep the winning score, thereby reducing the gap from the champions to one point.
The opportunity to continue to participate in the gold race did not fail to take advantage of the Moscow “Spartak”. A home meeting with “Rubin” from Kazan was more than successful for Muscovites. Confident victory with a score 3: 0 - Spartak scored all three goals within ten minutes at the junction of two halves. Nevertheless, the head coach of Spartak Vladimir Fedotov did not fully satisfy the big bill. At the post-match press conference, the red-white coach again lamented the poor implementation of scoring chances. Following the logic of Vladimir Grigoryevich, his wards could win much more. However, these words had their confirmation earlier, on the Luzhniki field. During the game, the Spartacists several times fell into the post and crosses of the Kolinko gate.
Do not lag behind the rushed leaders already closely matched “Zenith”. In the 20th round, the St. Petersburg club got one of the most unpleasant away games of the season - against the Vladivostok “Ray-Energy”. Prior to yesterday's match, the Premier League debutant lost points in home meetings only with draws. Play at home “Ray” did not happen. Now it happened. Zenith managed to dispel the myth of invincibility of the Vladivostok team. Moreover, the wards of Dick Lawyer spent this match without the lawyer. On the eve of the Dutch specialist had surgery, and doctors did not recommend him long flights. In addition, due to injuries, the team was not supported by leading forwards - Kerzhakov and Tekke. However, even without key links, the St. Petersburg team won a fairly confident victory. 2-0 in favor of the guests - exactly the goal for the half. Arshavin scored the first goal - in the first minute. Having quickly achieved success, the guests subsequently played to keep the score, so there is no way to name a fun game. And at the 61st minute, it all became clear: Alexander Panov, who recently returned to Zenit, distinguished himself not without the help of Shtanyuk's defender, who, trying to knock the ball into the corner, cut it into his own goal. Petersburgers had the class to calmly resist in the last minutes.
Thus, the upper part of the standings was seriously compacted: now the first team from the third is now separated by only two points, and from the fourth - five. And since there are nine more rounds left before the finish of the Russian Championship, it can be safely stated that the most interesting is just beginning.
Kirill Yaroshevsky