Ari injury and the need to score
The debut in the Champions League turned out for “Krasnodar” is extremely difficult. First, the draw threw the team into rivals in the third qualifying round, perhaps the most difficult opponent of all possible - a regular participant in the Porto main European Cup. Secondly, in the opening match, the southerners of the house suffered a disappointing defeat with a minimum score, having conceded a single goal in the 89th minute from the free kick. At the same time, the judge immediately after the break did not appoint a penalty for the Portuguese team.
However, the assistant coach of Krasnodar Murad Musaev Sergey Matveev after the final whistle said that he did not consider this loss a verdict. The fans cheered up and an important victory over the “Ruby” in the RPL on Saturday.
True, in Portugal, the southerners had to play without Ari, who was out of order due to damage to the back of the thigh. Porto was not without losses, and the Portuguese risked losing captain Danila Pereira. Midfielder due to muscle damage missed the opening match of the Portuguese championship with “Lived Vicente”.
By the way, in it, the “dragons” suffered an unexpected defeat - 1: 2, which also inspired hope in the hearts of fans of the Russian team. It was difficult to overestimate the importance of Pereira for Porto, because after the departure of a number of leaders, it actually turned into a key figure in the team’s game.
However, the damage did not ultimately prevent the captain from gaining a place at the base of the hosts for the most important game.
Musaev made only one rearrangement in the starting lineup compared to the first match - Magomed-Shapi Suleymanov unexpectedly took Yunes Namli's right flank. But Marcus Berg again got a place in the roster, despite not the most successful game in Krasnodar, while the best scorer of the team this season, Ivan Ignatiev, remained in reserve.
Two goals in the debut and the incredible game of Suleymanov
The game from the very beginning was developing successfully for Krasnodar. The team needed a quick ball like air, and the team scored it in the second minute. Moreover, the “joker” Suleimanov, who was released at the start, took a direct part in taking the gates of others. Magomed-Chapi served on the near post, from which there was a discount on Tonni de Villena, and he sent the shell into the net with his head.
Now, the “Port” needed to go forward and open, which, of course, went into the hands of the fast players of the attacking group of guests. As a result, Musaev’s wards soon increased their lead. They fled to a counterattack, and Vanderson cut an excellent pass to the right on Suleymanov. Magomed-Shapi came face to face with the goalkeeper and sent him the ball between his legs - 2: 0. It already looked like a knockdown.
The discouraged owners needed to attack, but they seemed to be simply shocked by what was happening. It was not possible to penetrate inside someone else's penalty box infrequently, so only distant blows followed, which did not carry any particular danger. True, at one point, the shell after a shot by Sergio Oliveira from a long distance hit one of the defenders of Krasnodar and nearly flew into a corner, but Krasnodar was lucky. Immediately after filing a corner, Pepe struck higher.
But the southerners did almost everything, and shortly before the end of the first half, they brought the score to a crushing one. Suleymanov was again in the spotlight. The young midfielder received the ball on the right flank, shifted to the center and shot from the penalty line precisely into the far corner.
After that, the Porto coaching staff had no choice but to go all-in and release Ze Luis - the hosts had to score at least three times, but they did not believe in such a scenario. Fans held the hosts with a whistle in which despair was felt.
Nervous time and siege from Porto
However, the second half turned out to be “validated” for Krasnodar, although this did not portend anything. Moreover, the “Port” due to injury lost Sergio Oliveira, who unsuccessfully collided with Ruslan Kambolov.
But after an hour of the game, the Russian fans again reminded of themselves The Luis. In Krasnodar, he earned a decisive free kick, and in Portugal he came on as a substitute and scored. After filing from the flank, the ex-striker Spartak reduced the backlog.
And just a few minutes before that, Berg completely missed the point. After the lumbago on the left, the Swede beat, it seemed, for sure, and he could have scored the fourth, but the goalkeeper saved the hosts.
And, having missed, the guests openly clung to their own free kick. Opponent tried to stretch the defense of the southerners through the flanks and load the ball into the box on high strikers. It turned out pretty well, and Musayev’s wards at some point shook their knees.
Fortunately, Safonov felt confident. For example, he literally saved the team after the most powerful shot of Mussa Marega in the very corner. In total, Matvey recorded in his asset 11 saves.
With the exit to the base zone of John Houdni Fjolusson, the situation seemed to be leveled, but 15 minutes before the final whistle, Krasnodar missed another. This time, Louis Diaz put a shell in the far corner with a cool blow.
In the end, fans of the southerners had to clutch their hearts repeatedly. The hosts switched to bulk and released all the tall players on the field. It was felt that “Krasnodar” is holding on with all its might.
True, in the end, Dmitry Stotsky could remove all the questions in the counterattack, but he was not able to beat the goalkeeper in close combat.
In addition to the main time of the match, the referee added as much as five minutes, but the guests still survived and managed to even slightly push the game away from their goal. With the final whistle, Musayev’s wards literally collapsed on the lawn - they had a historic match for themselves. For the right to play in the group stage will play with the Greek Olympiacos.