Controversial removal and two penalties
In the first match of the tour “Akhmat” and “Dynamo” tied. At the same time, the main protagonist of the meeting can be called judge Sergey Lapochkin, who appointed two penalties and removed the midfielder of blue and white Charles Cabore.
However, “Akhmat” sold his eleven meter, but “Dynamo” did not. As a result, the hosts managed to escape in the 93rd minute. After filing a corner Ukrainian Ivan Ordets sent the ball into the goal. The Grozny residents not only missed the victory, but also lost two football players, Yevgeny Harin and Bernard Berisha, due to injuries.
Not a single replacement and a gross mistake of Krykhovyak
With a similar score, the confrontation between Lokomotiv and Ufa ended. The railroad workers took the lead at the beginning of the second half, Eder scored, but could not keep the minimum advantage on the poor lawn of the Neftyanik stadium.
Gzhezhoz Krykhovyak, who shot down Artem Golubev in his own penalty area, helped the team of Vadim Evseev to recoup. And realized the eleven-meter Lovro Bizyak.
After the match, Semin could only complain about the refereeing, as the referee Evgeny Turbin showed eight yellow cards to his wards and only one to the hosts. It is also curious that both coaches did not make any replacements for the entire match.
The second consecutive victory of Tambov and the fourth goal of Melkadze
Meanwhile, the Tambov, after the resignation of Alexander Grigoryan, is gaining momentum. In the last round, the team led by Sergei Pervushin defeated Ufa, and in this away match gained three points in a match with another RPL newcomer Sochi.
Opponents exchanged goals scored in the end of the first half, but after a break Georgy Melkadze pushed Tambov forward again and chalked up his fourth goal this season in the RPL despite not having scored in the Premier League at all. And the forward team, thanks to two victories in a row, left the relegation zone. Sochi, by contrast, dropped to the last line.
Goal of Vlašić and the rescue of “Zenith”
Following in the tour program were two top-level matches: Zenit - CSKA and Krasnodar - Rostov. Both meetings ended in a draw as a result. In St. Petersburg, the owners of most of the playing time stormed the gates of Igor Akinfeev, but at the very end of the first half they unexpectedly missed from Nikola Vlasic.
And after the break there was an episode that in many ways broke the game to the army team. Two yellow cards in a few minutes received Yaka Bijol, although the army team believed that judge Mikhail Vilkov in the second case could regret the Slovenian.
As a result, the guests finally locked themselves in the defense and still could not hold the victory. With the transfer of Artyom Dziuba, the score was equalized by Alexander Erokhin, who replaced.
The players of CSKA after the match had enough claims against Vilkov. They were dissatisfied not only with removal of Biyol, but also with the judge’s condescending attitude to Serdar Azmun, who could receive a red card in two episodes at once, but ended up playing the match to the end.
Double Ionova and the character of "Krasnodar"
However, Zenit even before its match secured itself leadership in the first round thanks to a misfire of Lokomotiv. But in the southern derby between “Krasnodar” and “Rostov” it was determined who would become the second.
In order to complete the circle in the status of vice-leader, wards of Valery Karpin were incredibly close. In the first half, they, acting on counterattacks, perfectly punished the opponent and scored twice. Double managed to draw Alexei Ionov.
In the second half, the guests finally clung to the goal, but defended themselves in a disciplined and calm manner. And when the fans of “Krasnodar” already resigned to defeat, the southerners performed a real miracle. First, in the 93rd minute, Ivan Ignatiev, who replaced, reduced the gap to a minimum, and then literally in the last attack, Uros Spaich, who came forward, drove a shell into the net. So the wards of Murad Musaev escaped from defeat, but Rostov still remained in second place in the lap.
Goal in the opening and goalkeeper’s curious mistake
And festive Monday began with the unexpected home defeat of the Urals from Orenburg. However, Yekaterinburg residents can only blame themselves for this failure. To begin with, they already in the fourth minute lost Joel Fameye in their own penalty area, and then Yaroslav Godzur made a gross mistake before the break. After a weak blow in the performance of Ricardo Alves, he missed the ball, which flew by hand and landed right in the net.
In the second half, Ural struggled to recoup and even managed to reduce the backlog to a minimum thanks to an accurate shot by Eric Bikfalvi's head, but the hosts did not manage to recoup. Guests could not score three points even the lack of an disqualified captain and top scorer George Despotovich.
Dupin’s seventh cracker and mass brawl
“Wings of the Soviets” with “Ruby” did not manage to open an account in Samara, although both teams had many dangerous moments. In the first half, the guests looked better, and in the second - the hosts. But goalkeepers Sergey Ryzhikov and especially Yuri Dupin acted beyond all praise, who had already recorded their seventh match for zero in the current season of the RPL.
In the end, “Wings” completely switched to bulk, and a massive fight broke out near the side, but they failed to score Miodrag Bozovic’s wards. Thus, Rubin extended his unbeaten run in the national championship to five meetings. At the same time, Kazan for the third time in a row completed their match with a goalless draw. And for the entire first round, the team of Roman Sharonov scored only eight goals. This is the worst tournament result.
Tedesco's first defeat and unfulfilled moments
The tour ended with a rather unexpected defeat of Spartak from Arsenal. After two consecutive victories, under the leadership of the new coach Domenico Tedesco, the fans had the right to count on the continuation of a successful series, the more red-white played at home.
However, the meeting was unsuccessful for the Moscow team. Firstly, the hosts missed from Evgeni Lutsenko already in the 16th minute. Secondly, they spent an extremely unsuccessful first half and practically did not create moments. The absence of Zelimkhan Bakaev, Alex Kral and Nail Umyarov also affected. And if the first one missed the game due to disqualification, then Tedesco provided rest to both defensive midfielders.
To top it all off, just before the break, Ilya Kutepov was injured. Instead, the coach threw just Umyarov into the battle. And it helped - in the second half, Spartak pressed the opponent to the goal and created two hundred percent moments at the goal of Evgeny Shamov, but Jordan Larsson and Lorenzo Melgarejo were not scored by a miracle. In the end, the hosts got lost in bulk, and the Tula people calmly enough brought the matter to victory. It is curious that Arsenal beat Spartak for the third time in a row.