CSKA did not lose 13 matches, climbed into second place and made it to the Cup final. “Spartak” flew out of the Cup, and lost second place in the championship due to an extremely unstable game. And for the “red-whites” it was a match of life and death. The defeat deprived them of the opportunity to compete for silver.
The first half is a triumph of logic. Apparently, this is why the Spartacists started the match more actively. For half the time at the gates of Igor Akinfeev dangerous moments arose several times. The logical outcome of the segment was the goal of Mikhail Ignatov — however, from offside. CSKA practically didn't succeed.
The army team looked very constrained in the first minutes and regularly made mistakes. They lacked neither clarity when working with the ball, nor aggression in defense. Without the ball, they played too academically and did not put pressure on the opponent. And “Spartak” enjoyed this freedom with pleasure.
Willian Rocha, the Red-Blues' most aggressive player, became the catalyst for change. The Brazilian came out very actively to intercept the ball several times, which led to quick attacks by the guests. As a result, it was Roshi's actions that helped the army team to turn the game around. turned on active pressure, Spartak under pressure began to lose the ball more often, and the initiative passed to the guests. CSKA has already started its signature game — with a quick reversal of attacks and active connections of the laterals.
It immediately became hot at the gates of Spartak, and now CSKA scores a goal from offside — Anton Zabolotny plays the rebound after a long-range shot by Fedor Chalov. But the guests do not stop and immediately score according to the rules — a long throw by Igor Akinfeev, Chalov's discount to the goal and Medina shoots Selikhov at close range. «. And the first minutes after the goal, that's how it all happened. And then Spartak scored.
The goal did not follow from the logic of the game and turned out to be somewhat random. The hosts carried out the usual attack, a canopy from the flag — and Promes suddenly finds himself alone in front of the gate. A blunder of the guests and a clear performance of the hosts — and a completely illogical result for the break.
This event affected the game in the second half. In it, CSKA had a little more possession of the ball, and Spartak acted on counterattacks, but it was as if something in football itself had broken. The game became “wrong”, and the farther, the less football itself became in it. And there was more struggle.
And Willian Rocha became the most active participant in this struggle. He constantly crossed paths with Alexander Sobolev on the field, and each time the sparks from their collisions flew farther and farther. Sergei Karasev was unable to extinguish the conflict in the bud, and as a result, an explosion occurred. Sobolev's foul, one indecent gesture, the second — and both players see red cards in front of them.
After that, football ended and the game finally broke into separate episodes. CSKA did not have enough players to continue playing the usual football, and towards the end of the match, they also ran out of strength — after all, the army team's bench is rather short. And Spartak didn’t have a solid game before, but they had players who could give results in such a chaotic football.
In the last ten minutes, it was the release of fresh Balde and Moses that allowed the “red-whites” to seize the initiative. Fast and technical Spartacists wore down the guests' tired defense and forced them to make mistakes. The army team was a fraction of a second slower than their opponents — and twice hit the Spartak team in the legs in their own penalty area. Sergey Karasev did not give a penalty to CSKA for three minutes, running to the VAR monitor, and then he nevertheless pointed to the spot. Promes realized the chance.
Where there are no laws and chaos reigns, Spartak turned out to be better. But the championship does not consist of 30 derbies. And in ordinary football, CSKA is still better, retaining second place. But the fight for silver will be hot.