2023-11-01 23:22:28
The penultimate day of the final round of the Fonbet group stage of the Russian Cup was crowned by an excellent match in Group D, in which Krasnodar beat its leader Spartak in Moscow – 3:2. In Group B, Lokomotiv reserved first place by defeating Rubin, which was eliminated from the tournament early, 3:0. And in Group A in the play-offs, thanks to Fakel’s 2:0 win, Sochi advanced to the play-offs.
The two domestic giants who found themselves in Group D played a wonderful match in terms of excitement. It was opened by an error by Spartak goalkeeper Alexander Selikhov, who threw the ball to the Krasnodar player, from which Ilzat Akhmetov’s pass and his most accurate pass to Alexander Koksharov ripened. It may have made many viewers remember that Spartak, strictly speaking, no longer needs anything – first place will not go anywhere, but Krasnodar, in order to penetrate into the “upper” bracket, ahead of Dynamo, playing on Thursday with Nizhny Novgorod uncoupled, glasses are required. The motivation is fundamentally different.
But Spartak responded instantly – with a penalty earned and converted by Alexander Sobolev. And the fun began. “Krasnodar” carried out the sharpest attacks, and Selikhov twice took blows almost point-blank. “Spartak” hit the frame of the Krasnodar goal. In the end, Sobolev again found himself in the spotlight – thanks to a smart pass to Nail Umyarov, who circled goalkeeper Stanislav Akgatsev and rolled the ball into the goal that hospitably opened in front of him. No, this was absolutely not the same Spartak that brutally beat Fakel in the championship last weekend. But Krasnodar was also good. And after the break, he equalized the score thanks to a magical forward pass, several tens of meters ahead, from Junior Alonso and skillful play ahead from Koksharov.
And after some time, Krasnodar took the lead: a rebound from Daniil Denisov after a long-range shot by Alexander Ektov helped. “Spartak” rushed to the assault – as it turned out, in order to survive the terrible drama. Alexander Sobolev earned a penalty again and executed it brilliantly again. There was nothing to dig into here. And VAR, in the middle of the Spartak celebration, dug in, recording that, before hitting the ball with his right foot, Sobolev touched it with the edge of his left boot. The goal was canceled. “Krasnodar” defeated “Spartak” and broke away from “Dynamo” by three points. He will get into the play-offs of the RPL Path if the Nizhny Novgorod team takes points from Dynamo.
This match closed the day’s program, during which two more matches were played. One turned out to be completely uninteresting. In Group B, its leader Lokomotiv hosted the outsider Rubin, who had already said goodbye to the Cup and was not going to slam the door goodbye. The Kazan team did not create any serious problems for their opponents. And Lokomotiv shocked us primarily with its clarity in those situations when it had the opportunity to rush into a counterattack. All his goals in the first half were like textbook ones. First, an impeccable flank pass from Dmitry Rybchinsky to the far edge of the penalty area to Nair Tiknizyan, who hammered the ball into the net, catching it on the fly on his left foot. Then – an impressively designed combination: in it, Tiknizyan played the role of a key assistant, making a pass to Anton Miranchuk. And finally, a cool solo from Miranchuk, who dragged the ball through the opponents’ formation to arrange for Vladislav Sarveli to shoot goalkeeper Yegor Shamov.
The autumn “Lokomotiv” managed to get used to the fact that every point is won with blood, that it doesn’t have matches without torment and suffering. But this was clearly not the case. In the match with Rubin, Lokomotiv could afford to spend the entire second half in a warm-up mode. Having won, he guaranteed himself first place in the group and the “upper” playoff bracket. Rostov and Ural, who were tied on points before the final round, will compete for second place on Thursday.
The game in Group A between Sochi and Fakel was more challenging. True, the situation here insisted on a high degree of tension. The Sochi and Voronezh players approached this match being in the basement half of the table. But neither one nor the other has been eliminated from the Cup yet. Everyone needed a victory to continue the fight in it. Sochi coped with the task better. “Fakel” was biting on the foreign field, but after their own goal was canceled due to offside, they conceded. Andrei Mendel gave the ball to the opponents, and a couple of seconds later Nikita Burmistrov deftly completed a killer cross. At the end of the first half, the author of this cross, Timofey Margasov, showed agility, finishing off the ball deflected by goalkeeper Vitaly Gudiev.
The Torch’s position insisted that he was obliged to take risks in the second half. But the desire to correct this situation ran into the fortress of the Sochi order, which refused to tremble. Sochi won and kicked the Voronezh team out of the tournament. He himself will play in the “lower” playoff bracket. “Orenburg” and CSKA found themselves in the “top”, which on Thursday, facing each other, will determine the winner of the group.
“The RPL Way”
Group stage. Final, sixth round
Group A. “Sochi”—”Fakel” 2:0 (Burmistrov, 29; Margasov, 42).
Group table
I V N P M O
1. “Orenburg” 5 4 0 1 5:7 11
2. CSKA 5 3 0 2 8:4 8
3. «Sochi» 6 2 0 4 7:6 8
4. “Torch” 6 2 0 4 4:7 6
The CSKA-Orenburg match will take place today.
Group B. Lokomotiv — Rubin 3:0 (Tiknizyan, 9; Miranchuk, 26; Sarveli, 37).
I V N P M O
1. «Locomotive» 6 3 0 2 10:4 13
2. “Ural” 5 3 0 2 5:4 8
3. Rostov 5 3 0 2 5:6 8
4. “Ruby” 6 1 0 5 3:9 4
The match “Rostov” – “Ural” will take place today.
Group D. “Spartak” — “Krasnodar” 2:3 (Sobolev, 8 (pen); Umyarov, 45+1 – Koksharov, 3; 61; Denisov, 74 (own goal). Missed penalty: Sobolev, 84).
I V N P M O
1. “Spartak” 6 4 0 2 16:12 12
2. “Krasnodar” 6 4 0 2 12:9 11
3. “Dynamo” 5 2 0 3 10:9 8
4. Nizhny Novgorod 5 1 0 4 5:13 2
The Dynamo-Paris Nizhny Novgorod match will take place today.
For a win in regulation time, 3 points are awarded, for a win in a penalty shootout – 2, for a loss in a penalty shootout – 1.
Orenburg, CSKA, Lokomotiv and Spartak reached the play-offs of the RPL Path. Sochi advanced to the play-offs of the Path of Regions.
#final #group #stage #Spartak #lost #Krasnodar