After the completion of the three-round confrontation between Spartak and Zenit, I want to talk more about Petersburgers. To speak simply because these three matches taught them something. While the team of Vladimir Fedotov understood everything before the start of the series.
Close the topic of “Spartacus” in the confrontation with “Zenith” can be a few suggestions. Tactical scheme 4-5-1. Bet on high-speed counterattacks and standards. Excellent mood for a match with a principled opponent. Penalties on Bystrov (others, as it turns out, are not so easy to implement). Enumerating personal merits and praising the newcomers to the foundations is not the time - they certainly deserve it, but these conditional seven points are still the merit of Fedotov. Such work with the team is the standard of attitude towards a specific and, importantly, a strong opponent.
Another thing is Lawyer - he did not prepare specifically for Fedotov. Three consecutive matches, sitting in his own garden under a rockfall from mistakes of central defenders, double deductions, portraits of Anyukov and controversial judging decisions, the Dutchman patiently waited for his team to start playing the way he wants. After all, all the Lawyer’s coaching techniques demonstrated in matches with Spartak are as obvious as Fedotov’s. Ball control, positional assault, midfield juggling and the absence of wings - the entire arsenal of tactical figures in orderly rows lined up in front of the red and white corps.
And it turned out that in the multi-act confrontation, Spartak made the result, and Zenit made progress. The Advocate team, as an old model juicer, lacked methodology, but did not have enough power. St. Petersburg match-by-match squeezed by goal from the final protocol, keeping the same number in their column. Even the surname was the same - and looked there, I must say, very appropriate. Pogrebnyak, scoring Spartak - the first plot of the Lawyer, which coincided with expectations.
Perhaps he is the last one - after all, while Zenit is playing exclusively for the rival’s starvation. The only exception was the first half in Rostov - but it is unlikely that the lawyer would want a repetition of the game panic that followed him, although then everything worked out. So you should not wait for the usual high-speed attacks, and we will not see two attackers at the base soon. Perhaps Radimov will appear in it infrequently. All this is a new team, so far consistent with the aspirations of the fans no more than with the business plan of Gazprom.
Through the matches with the Zenit under construction, not only the advantages, but also the shortcomings of Spartak, clearly appeared. The excellent interchangeability of the players, the insolence of the young, the long-awaited peace of mind in the frame and the clever Sabitov did not overshadow the weakness of Gedera, who had lost several martial arts (including horsemen) to Arshavin and Mozart’s habitual restraint. Spartak also did not use the significant weakening of the left flank of Zenit, putting there the debutant Dineev - who played very well by himself. Nevertheless, this “Spartak” beat “Zenith” in the championship and went to the Cup, leaving no doubt about their own triumph. Whereas Zenit, albeit promising dividends with its methodical progress, did not achieve a result. And the winner is always alone.
Spartak M - Zenit - 1: 1 (1: 0)
Goals: 1: 0 - Prudnikov (17), 1: 1 - Pogrebnyak (51).
Unfilled penalty : Mozart (60, crossbar).
SPARTAK M : Pletikosa, Kudryashov, Strantzl, Geder, Shishkin, Mozart, Sabitov, Quincy (Rebko, 67), Dineev (Boyarintsev, 85), Titov (Kalinichenko, 26), Prudnikov.
ZENIT : Malafeev, Anyukov (Krizhanats, 81), Hagen, Skrtel, Shirl, Zyryanov (Maximov, 87), Gorshkov, Lee Ho (Riksen, 46), Tymoshchuk, Arshavin, Pogrebnyak.
Warnings : Dineev (14), Shirl (28), Skrtel (56), Malafeev (59).
April 18th . Moscow. Luzhniki
Judge : Stanislav Sukhina (Malakhovka).
The first match is 2: 1.