Zenit beat in the super final of the Russian Football Cup Kaliningrad «Baltika» and won this trophy for the fifth time. The match took place on Sunday in Moscow at the Luzhniki Stadium and ended in a victory for the St. Petersburg team with a score of 2:1. Defenders Nino (81st minute) and Nuraly Alip (90+5) scored goals among the winners, while Kaliningraders scored goals from forward Alex Fernandez (40).
Our answer to the Champions League The decisive match of the Russian Cup for the third year in a row takes place the day after the Champions League final. And this is not an accident — the leadership of the Russian Football Union (RFU) took such a step in light of sanctions from the International Football Federation (FIFA) and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), which do not allow domestic clubs to take part in European cups. Now Russian fans have an excellent opportunity to compare the level of organization of the two tournaments and once again make sure that we can organize football festivals at least as well as our foreign colleagues.
The Russian Cup Superfinal was preceded by the events of the All-Russian Football Day. The RFU initiative to popularize this sport covered dozens of large cities; the main part of the celebration took place on the territory of the capital's Luzhniki Arena. Several activity points attracted thousands of residents and guests of the capital, and RFU ambassadors — Denis Glushakov, Igor Semshov, Dmitry Sychev, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov and other famous Russian football players — took part in quests and tournaments.
«The RFU believes that football fans should have their own professional holiday. We will do everything to ensure that the All-Russian Football Day is included in the production calendar of the Russian Federation from 2025,» said Maxim Mitrofanov, the organization's general secretary.
The central event of the holiday was a marathon match in the 7-on-7 format. It began on June 1 and ended the next day less than four hours before the start of the Baltika-Zenit game. Former captain of the Russian national team and current RFU employee Alexei Smertin took part in the record-breaking match.
«»26 hours — very hard! The hardest thing was the early morning. There were a lot of people with disabilities, soccer moms. This is a platform that united us all for 26 hours. I'm happy! There is no desire to repeat and improve the record (laughs)», — Smertin admitted in a conversation with.
Luzhniki is the most spacious and representative stadium in the country; the arena can accommodate more than 73 thousand people. The appearance of Baltika in the main match of the Russian Cup was a surprise for everyone, and gathering a full Luzhniki stadium under such a banner would be fantastic. But the final 42 thousand viewers in the fan card era is a more than worthy result. An extensive entertainment program was prepared for those who came to enjoy the game, during which national pop stars — Shaman, Oleg Gazmanov, and the group «My Michelle» — performed.
“Baltika” — Russian “Borussia” The pre-match situation indicated that “Baltika” had practically no chance. The team from Kaliningrad failed the season, losing its registration in the Russian Premier League (RPL), but jumped above its head in the Russian Cup. This is already a worthy result for Baltika; it was extremely difficult to believe in their victory over the current Russian champion Zenit. In some ways, this situation was reminiscent of the expectations before the already mentioned Champions League final. It also had a clear favorite in the person of Real Madrid, which looked much preferable to Borussia Dortmund. However, the forecasts did not prevent the German team from imposing their game on the Spaniards. If Dortmund had treated their chances more carefully, the outcome of the meeting could have been different.
Baltika, like Borussia, began their final without any warm-up. By the 13th minute, Sergei Ignashevich's team had created two clear-cut chances, but Fernandez was unable to convert a one-on-one, and full-back Diego Luna headed the ball from a killer position just above the goal. After a stunning start, Zenit fully engaged in the match and carried out two dangerous counterattacks, which were clumsily botched by striker Ivan Sergeyev. Then Sergeyev's colleague Mateo Cassierra got down to business. The RPL's top scorer was more accurate than the Russian, but Baltika goalkeeper Evgeny Latyshonok played well. For the goalkeeper, who had previously been a bit of a shoo-in, the Russian Cup became the tournament of his entire career. Saves in the semi-final against Moscow's Spartak and in the decisive match significantly increased the level of interest from top clubs, so we should expect Latyshonok to be transferred to a more prestigious team in the summer. A goalkeeper like that shouldn't play in the First League.
With his actions, Letts instilled even more confidence in his partners. They continued to put high pressure on the opponent and launch sharp attacks at the first opportunity. One of these attacks at the end of the first half led to a long-awaited goal: midfielder Danila Kozlov, on loan from Zenit and having a great spring, brought Fernandez to an empty corner with an excellent pass from the flank, and he finally missed — 1:0.
To the credit of the Kaliningraders, in the second half they did not sit back on defense. Already in the 47th minute, forward Vitaly Lisakovich could have doubled the lead, but his strong shot was turned into the post by Zenit goalkeeper Denis Adamov. And on the opposite side of the field Latyshonok continued to work miracles. Neither Arthur, nor Pedro, nor Claudinho could achieve their goal, relying on the excellent reaction of the goalkeeper. In the 66th minute, the Blaugrana seemed to have achieved their goal when Wendel sent the ball into the net with a strong shot from the penalty area. But the main referee of the final, Sergei Karasev, used the video assistant referee (VAR) system and canceled the goal due to an attacking foul. Feeling that the trophy was leaving his hands, head coach of St. Petersburg Sergei Semak threw midfielder Alexander Erokhin into the attack. He fought well at the top and passed the ball to his teammates, creating an additional point of pressure in the opponent's penalty area.
Ten minutes before the end of the match, the pressure from the favorite increased to the maximum, and the attack still produced results. After a series of dangerous ricochets inside the Baltika goalkeeper area, defender Nino successfully substituted his foot and pushed the ball into the goal — 1:1. In the last minutes of the game, the St. Petersburgers did not play it safe and were rewarded for it: Alip skillfully put his head up after a cross from Andrei Mostovoy and sent the ball into the far corner of the goal — 2:1. «Baltika» had neither strength nor time left for even one attack.
The match with Baltika became the quintessence of the season for Zenit. The St. Petersburgers clawed out RPL gold in a very difficult fight, when it seemed there was no longer a chance for the title. They did the same thing in the Russian Cup. St. Petersburg achieved a golden double for the first time since 2020 and for the first time in history took all three trophies (including the Super Cup) on the domestic stage.