Alexander BokulevDeputy Head of the Editorial Board SportAll materialsSt. Petersburg «Zenith» got another scalp in the current RPL season and strengthened its position in the lead. Dynamo had chances, but the Muscovites still turned out to be noticeably weaker than their opponent. The Russian champion of the last three years had a little trouble at the start of the current season, but gradually everything is falling into place. Dynamo gave reason to believe that they will build a monolith on their field, which is necessary for real competition with Zenit throughout the match. However, many things did not go according to plan.Russian Premier League (RPL)September 17, 2022 • Start at 19:00End
Dynamo MoscowRussia0 : 2< img src="/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/5d142723b825af607dca5048be55e55b.png" />ZenitRussiaFrom Star to DisappointmentThe Blue-and-White starting line-up looked quite competitive against the backdrop of the hegemon. There was even Matias Normann, who was urgently substituted in the match against Akhmat this week due to an ankle injury. In Dynamo, they carefully guarded the informational background around the Norwegian, who managed to gain authority in the team and was liked by the fans for his charisma and confidence in the game. The reason became obvious on Saturday. However, concerns about Norman's condition remained — as it turned out, not in vain. From the first minutes, he regularly made mistakes, and the quintessence of the midfielder's poor form was a rough productive “bring”, after which Andrey Mostovoy opened the scoring. The most logical decision that Dynamo could have taken during the break was to replace Norman. And so it happened: Luka Gagnidze entered the second half, to whom the head coach of the youth team of Georgia «subtly» hinted the need to leave Russia the other day. At the same time, Slavisa Jokanovic did not agree after the match that he had made a mistake with the choice of the starting lineup.Matthias Normann (left) in a match with Zenit «Karasev's disrespect?» Dynamo continued to try to impose a fight on Zenit, the beginning of the second half gave a dose of hope to the hosts' fans. At some point, the most specific option for the White-and-Blues in the attack was long-range shots — Daniil Fomin even hit the crossbar. But much, if not all, for the Muscovites collapsed in the 64th minute, when Roberto was sent off for the second yellow card Fernandez. The ensuing free-kick Douglas Santos struck significantly higher than the gate, but the cries of «Loch oblique!» from the fans of «Dynamo» already sounded very doomed. Fans of the hosts were generally in the shadow of Zenit fans, who do not boycott matches without a fan card and travel en masse to away matches. In such circumstances, Arsen Zakharyan habitually boiled, freed in this game from a large amount of rough work. In one of the episodes, the young leader of Dynamo fell on the side referee and received a yellow card. The fact is that the midfielder was arguably not fouled.Arsen Zakharyan and Sergey Karasev After the match, this situation was one of the key ones among the flurry of claims against the chief referee Sergey Karasev from the side of the hosts. Jokanovic even admitted that he felt disrespect for Dynamo from the referee. And a member of the club's board of directors, Dmitry Gafin, with obvious sarcasm, pointed out that Karasev is most often called the best football referee in Russia. However, it seems that all the speakers agreed that Zenit deserved three points. Gustavo Mantua's goal in injury time made the score more impressive, and it was hardly illogical. After the sensational defeat of CSKA by Torpedo, Rostov became the main pursuer of the Petersburgers, which still does not know defeats in the season (even in the Cup, unlike the blue-white-blue ones). four points, but Sergei Semak does not agree that the championship can already end. Purely mechanically, this is absolutely understandable, because in the next round the St. Petersburg team is just right to play with the team of Valery Karpin. However, if, after the Cup match with Spartak, Zenit defeats Rostov as well, then the silhouette of another trophy in the blue-white-blue collection will be even more clearly visible. The author's opinion may not coincide with the position of the editors.
