Last year’s appointment of Vladimir Fedotov to the main coaching post was just on the away match with Zenit. Then the Spartacists, experiencing the story of the expulsion of Alenichev and the dismissal of Starkov, won 4: 1. Then, as today, Mozart was not in the squad - and Fedotov had to go on an experiment, putting up three defenders for the match. Now he also lost Kovacs, but he staffed and prepared the team even better than a year ago, having completely won the coaching duel against Dick Advocaat. A similar deja vu was also supported by the penalty awarded by Bystrov in the match against the former team - just like a year ago.
The homework of Dick Advocaat before the principled game, it seems, was limited to acquaintance with the intrigue “Pavel Pogrebnyak and Spartak” - the forward of the Russian team left the starting lineup of Zenit for the first time this season. And immediately he was at the front with the ball received from Arshavin, but it was an offside position. And the goal of Spartak prevented the further development of the plot that was drawn. Casting from its half of the field flew through Skkrtel, who jumped out, right on Titov’s foot, whose goal was added to the beauty of the sun, which blinded the confused Malafeev.
Having missed the blow, “Zenith” stubbornly shook its head and went forward. Surprisingly, for the first half hour it was the St. Petersburg team that played Spartak football - a small pass, a touch game, non-vertical attacks over the entire width of the field. Only the left flank remained forgotten: Kim Dong-jin seemed to be given the command to guard Bystrov. In addition, Denisov took a pronounced attacking position on the right, on which most of the hosts' attacks ended - mainly after an inaccurate pass to the center.
Fedotov’s team, having ceded the rivals the right to play “red-white” football, also took advantage of another Moscow team’s arsenal. Perhaps, “Spartak” has never played the second number so menacingly and confidently - with two oporniks, nimble edges and no forward pillar, the absence of which made them cherish the ball and not go astray. And though the air-raid alarm did not sound at the Zenit goal until the corner in the 27th minute - but after Torbinsky and repeated errors of Skrtel and Malafeev, Stranzl scored the second goal with his head.
The next team action of Spartak was included in the compulsory program for a long time, but almost for the first time its demonstration deserved an estimate close to 6.0. Close - because they did not score immediately. Otherwise, the rapid interception of Torbinsky, the instant connection of Quincy and Bystrov, and the entire episode, played out to the end, would have been an example of creating a goal attack almost from scratch. However, the mise-en-scene, which began with a mistake by the hosts, ended with it - Tymoshchuk fouled in the penalty area and released another personal intrigue of the match from the genie’s bottle: Bystrov against Zenit. Joyful Vova fell on his lawn with pleasure (as on April 30 of last year), and then scored with pleasure.
The crushing start not only showed that Fedotov was better prepared for the match - it also revealed the Lawyer’s inability to intervene sharply in the course of events. Even after the childishly ridiculous removal of Rebko (who left Spartak without another defender), Zenit missed a direct, like an arrow, counterattack of the guests. Quincy's pass was given away from the corner flag, and the forward who escaped from Anyukov could make the second half an optional appendage to the first - but Malafeev turned out to be good in close combat. After the missed opportunity, Spartak has never been so close to the goal, but the team’s task has changed.
Renat Sabitov became a symbol of the change of tactics to a strictly defensive, but not excluding the possibility of stinging an opponent. If the decision to play the ex-defender of “Saturn” in the position of a defensive midfielder made at the First Channel Cup was Fedotov’s initiative, then the red-white coach scored whists again. And even more of them were picked up by Sabitov himself - his exceptional utility was marked by three not very noticeable, but key episodes. First, Renat brought Bystrov one-on-one against the cross. Then he stopped the anti-“fair play” attack of “Zenith” when he was lying on the Titov field and some players of “Spartak” stopped. And soon the sharpest pass by Kim Dong-jin broke into the penalty area.
The second half did not reveal the optimal combination of Zenit midfielders. Tymoshchuk’s departure in defense and the appearance of Radimov as a playmaker looked good - at least in numerical advantage. So far, Dick Advocaat has only managed to place the players on the field, more or less singling out the base from a double set of midfield and attack, but failed to put the game on. And his main flaw seems to be the emptiness around Pogrebnyak - neither Arshavin, nor Denisov, nor Dominguez played the role of the second striker. It is curious that Pogrebnyak himself seemed to be asking for a partner - he scored immediately after the field came another striker - Dziuba ... And Vladimir Fedotov also managed to hint how to score without any forwards - the combination of Bystrov, Titov and Boyarintsev ended in a blow above empty the gate.
Fedotov’s coaching triumph in this match overshadowed a faded draw with Amkar - however, he still has to solve the problems that arose in that match. In the same way, Dick Advocaat can, having repelled today's nightmare, recall the quite mature attacking game of Zenit in the first half of the match with Rostov. However, the last is remembered - and at the moment the winner and the loser are obvious to everyone.
ZENIT - SPARTAK M - 1: 3 (0: 3)
Goals: 0: 1 - Titov (2), 0: 2 - Stranzl (27), 0: 3 - Bystrov (37, penalty), 1: 3 - Pogrebnyak (85).
ZENIT: Malafeev, Kim Don Jin, Krizhanats (Dominguez, 46), Anyukov, Skrtel, Gorshkov, Timoshchuk, Zyryanov (Radimov, 46), Denisov, Pogrebnyak, Arshavin.
SPARTAK: Pletikosa, Jiranek, Strantzl, Shishkin, Shoave, Bystrov (Dzyuba 85), Sabitov, Torbinsky, Titov, Rebko, Quincy (Boyarintsev, 73).
Warnings: Tymoshchuk (4), Pogrebnyak (13), Rebko (19), Boyarintsev (81), Skrtel (90 + 1), Stranzl (90 + 3).
Deletions: Rebko (39, second warning), Pogrebnyak (90, second warning).
St. Petersburg. "Petrovsky." 2 p.m.
Judge : Igor Egorov (Nizhny Novgorod).