CSKA won only one victory in the last six matches. Sport tells what happened to the team of Vladimir Fedotov, who until recently was in the top 2 of the RPL. . He confidently stated that CSKA could gnaw three points in each of the last draws.“The lack of implementation is a key moment in the stretch, which instilled a sense of insecurity in the team. Although I talked about it a lot. It is difficult to overcome this in a short time. In the matches that we lost, we always created chances. Yes, implementation suffered. But if we take the statistics, we could have had more points. Three draws in a row, where in each of them there were chances to get hold of victories. My hand will not rise to accuse the CSKA players of lack of will,» the coach said at a press conference.
Let us turn to the statistics that Fedotov spoke about. The army team is the only team among the leaders who scored less than expected. This season, CSKA has played 31.4 xG (expected goals), while upsetting opponents 29 times. br>
The defense also has problems. According to UnderStat, Muscovites conceded three goals more than expected. This confirms the match with the “Lower”. A large number of blows of the army team did not reach the goal, and the guests used the only chance.
To be specific, the attacking trio of CSKA cope. Fedor Chalov has 10 goals and expected goals. Jorge Carrascal and Jesús Medina are also fulfilling the plan so far.
There are problems in other areas. For example, defenders Milan Gajic and Bakhtiyor Zaynutdinov loved to squander moments. They deprived the team of four goals scored.Opponents of the army team realize almost all the chances. CSKA, on the other hand, cannot score from killer positions, for which they pay with points. Statistics confirm Fedotov's words about lost victories. In terms of xG, the team was better than Orenburg, Spartak and Dynamo. However, in all cases, CSKA received only one point.
Diveev's injury broke Fedotov's achievementsProblems with the implementation are not the only reason for the autumn decline of the army. In the match of the 10th round, Igor Diveev landed unsuccessfully on the lawn, breaking his tibia. Fedotov by that time had only found the optimal trio in the center of defense. Zainutdinov and Willian Rocha played next to Igor. The coach had to rebuild everything and select options.
Since then, Bruno Fuchs, Georgy Schennikov, Kirill Nababkin have played in the center of defense. However, it was not possible to achieve the same reliability. For the next six matches in the championship, CSKA only once kept a clean sheet.
In the game with Nizhny, Diveev even ended up on the bench. Although it is too early to talk about a full return to the base. After his injury, Fedotov again had only one profile central defender — Rocha. By the time the Russian was injured, he managed to play only two matches.
When the coach began to patch up the resulting hole, the players had new positions. Shchennikov, for example, retrained from a flank to a central defender.
Carrascal and Medina lost their form
The deterioration in results can be clearly linked to the September break for international matches. She had the strongest influence on the Latin American diaspora of CSKA.
Carrascal and Medina missed the game with Khimki (2:1) long flights and late returns. Victor Mendes appeared on the field only in the second half. If it was possible to cope with the sinking club near Moscow without their star legionnaires, then their participation was required in the next matches.
Medina and Carrascal were back in the start, but production dropped noticeably. Over the last six games, the Latin American team has organized only one goal against Lokomotiv. show off your entire arsenal. The team chemistry has failed, it is obvious from the last games. In matches like with Nizhny Novgorod, you need to snatch points when something doesn't work out. First you need to overcome yourself, and then beat the opponent. We don't get it. It is difficult to go through the season in one breath,» Fedotov explained.
After the matches of the national teams of CSKA, he lost his chemistry. The army team showed a level close to the summer level, but the implementation failed. According to the expected points, Fedotov's team should now take second place in the championship with 34 points. However, in reality, Muscovites are five points behind this result.
Perhaps the Latin American stars believed in themselves so much that they stopped working out in defense. This resulted in a scandal involving Fedotov and Carrascal. Colombian inadequately moved the replacement in the second half of the derby with “Spartacus”. The story was quickly extinguished, but the bell came out not the most pleasant. Of the attacking trio, only Chalov, who was left without help, continues to score.
It will be problematic to solve the problems voiced in the three November matches. Fedotov will begin to carry out the main work during the winter break. He will have to return Carrascal and Medina self-confidence and at least slightly improve the implementation of scoring chances.
Diveev should return by the restart of the season. Together with Rosha and Zainutdinov, the optimal trio will work again.
If we improve the defense and return the former power to CSKA's attack, then the army team will definitely be able to compete for second place. Otherwise, the «red-blue» will be extremely difficult to squeeze into the top three winners.
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editors.