The self-confidence of Dick Advocaat, which allows the leading players to be exiled in doubles and to calmly look at the red and white colors, caused an increasing murmur in the ranks of Zenit fans. The visit of the renewed Dynamo, with the Gazprom version of the team from the banks of the Neva already being compared with last year’s version, was a good test for the Dutchman. Blue and white, from March 11, who fell into the meat grinder of games with last year's favorites, not only did they not lose their faces, but, on the contrary, gained a stable foundation and even gained points.
In contrast to Kobelev’s constancy (caused, however, by a shortage of personnel), the lawyer updates the Zenit midfield faster than fashion designers - their collections. This time, the density in the ranks of the creative midfield was higher than in the communal apartment - Radimov, organizing the game, breathing Dominguez, Arshavin and Denisov in the usual role of insiders in the back of Pogrebnyak. Even Tymoshchuk lost the status of a pure destroyer - his position to the left in the center balanced Radimov.
Despite such an impressive detachment, the first commotion arose precisely in the rear of the hosts. In a recent interview, Advocate admitted that Martin Skrtel plays frankly weaker than last year, and the Slovak so far justifies these words. Of course, there is no fault in the loss of the boot in his own penalty box. But the awkward removal of the ball to the opponent, which soon turned into a dangerous shot by Semshov on target, concealed a potential 0: 1. And already at the close of the first half, the helplessness of the verzila Martin in an air duel with Leandro Fernandez had to be compensated by Malafeev.
Colleagues from Shkrtel did not lag behind - roughly, on the card, fouled Hagen, and five minutes later Dmitry Kombarov twisted on the spot as much as three Zenitists. The alarming statistics of the corners, which took shape at the end of the match at 15: 5 in favor of the guests, also spoke of jitters at the penultimate turn. The uninhibited counterplay of the Dynamo, often surpassing the hosts in speed, looked thoughtful and balanced - if it were not for the fruitless attempts to throw Cisera “at the lighthouse”, who had won a pair of martial arts from strength.
Fears that arose in the first 15 minutes of the mast, it was possible to fill a sports bag - when suddenly a gap appeared in it, through which they spilled out. Surprisingly rarely received the ball Arshavin made two identical innings from the left to the far post. At first, Denisov failed to close such a “volleyball” attack at the second pace, but another attempt succeeded - with complete inattention to the ball from the side of Karchemarskas, Dominguez took advantage of a goal chance.
The current “Zenith” goal - a great help. So far, blue-white-blue is rarely scored first, but when they do this, they no longer lose. The game, with the digital advantage expressed on the scoreboard, improved, and perhaps for the first time this season, apart from the first half of the match with Rostov, we had a chance to see what Zenit should be like according to Dick Advocaat.
Finally transferring the team to the rails of a positional rather than high-speed attack, the Dutchman corrected the error of the first matches by strengthening the vertical axis of the midfield. The double center and Dominguez acting in front of it look more convincing than the three midfielders scattered across the entire width of the field. The fist in the center has finally freed the edges for the defenders - we have never seen an attacking Anyukov this season. In addition, Denisov and Arshavin, deprived of playmaking functions, played well, albeit in episodes. The goal of the first, the signature solo pass of the second and the assists of both are quite enough for a match won primarily by the whole team.
And Dynamo lost, again not losing to the opponent in the class. Neither with Spartak, nor with CSKA, and even more so with Lokomotiv, Muscovites did not look worse in organizing the game. And here, at first, they were not inferior to Zenit, suffering only from two serious problems - the lack of worthy striker and goalkeeper. And even with these shortcomings for Dynamo, everything is just beginning - the most difficult matches are behind. Despite the convincing victory of Zenit (although the second goal seems to have been scored from offside), the final increase of Dynamo compared to last year's 14th place is now easier to predict than to predict the entry of Zenith into the medal three.
ZENIT - DYNAMO - 3: 0 (1: 0)
Goals: 1: 0 - Dominguez (18), 2: 0 - Pogrebnyak (52), 3: 0 - Denisov (74).
ZENIT: Malafeev, Kim Don Jin, Skrtel, Hagen, Anyukov, Tymoshchuk, Radimov, Arshavin, Denisov (Shirl, 86), Pogrebnyak, Dominguez (Zyryanov, 46).
DYNAMO: Karchemarskas, Tochilin, Tanasevich, Fernandez, Granat, Kolodin, Semshov, D. Kombarov, Khokhlov, Danny, Ciseru (K. Kombarov, 46).
Warnings : Hagen (9), Semshov (21), Tochilin (37), Danny (50), Pogrebnyak (54), Tanasevich (54), Denisov (57), Tymoshchuk (90).
April 14th . "Petrovsky." 2 p.m.
Judge : Eduard Maly (Volgograd).