A difficult schedule, problems in the supporting zone and the absence of the last pass: why Spartak flew out of the Europa League

Poor implementation and ineffective Mirzov

Fans of Spartak were waiting with a hope for a return match with Braga, because the red-white team had recently gained an excellent move, and won three consecutive victories in the RPL and broke into the group of leaders. Even the defeat with a minimum score in Portugal did not spoil the mood of the fans of the team, the more the match turned out to be more equal.

However, Oleg Kononov's wards failed to complete the next feat and again lost, this time with a score of 1: 2. The hosts demonstrated a nondescript game and did not realize those moments that they had.

The main problem that literally caught my eye at the Otkrytie Arena was the lack of a final pass. The team was noticeably lacking in a man who could direct attacks with accurate passes. Very quickly, Guus Thiel became such a footballer, but in the qualification of the Europa League he was flirted with the previous team, like Georgan Larsson (Dutch AZ and Swedish Norrkoping, respectively. - RT ). And here you can ask a question to the leadership of Spartak, who could not help but know what is buying the players who cannot help the team in European competitions.

In the absence of Thiel, the whole game of red and white went astray on the flanks, where Reziuan Mirzov and Zelimkhan Bakaev actively participated. And if the latter worked traditionally with high quality and even scored, then once again questions arose for Mirzov. The most eloquent game of the ward was appreciated by Kononov, who replaced the midfielder during the break. Fans also reacted to the castling eloquently - applause.

It was with the loss of the ball that Mirzov began the first successful attack of Braga. Unfortunately, in recent matches Spartak missed a lot precisely after the opponent’s flank passes. So it was in Portugal, so it was in Samara. Moreover, the biggest problems arise precisely on the left edge, where Ayrton, who loves to connect to the other half of the field, does not always have time to go back, and Mirzov is not in a hurry to work out on the defensive and often goes into the game, forgetting about partners. As a result, Ayaz Guliyev and Roman Zobnin often do not have time to close a hole on the edge of the flank.

As for the issue of the absence of a player who is able to make the last pass, it is no coincidence that at the Otkrytie Arena Andre Schürrle was sometimes forced to pull himself almost to the center of the field in order to launch an attack on his team. It turned out that there was simply nobody to do besides him. As a result, in the second half, Kononov threw into the battle Jano Ananidze, and with him the game at the red-white adjusted, but it was already too late.

In summary, Braga proved to be a more coaching team, which played disciplined defensively and competently used counterattacks. Ricardo Sa Pinto did not come up with a plan that was too complicated and won. Spartak, on the other hand, appeared to be the worst example of itself: a team that acts more by inertia and does not really understand how to achieve results.

At the same time, red and white did not realize a number of points. It is especially disappointing that in the first half, Samuel Gigot and Esekiel Ponce did not use their chances.

Search opornik and three matches in a week

After the match Kononov complained about the too heavy schedule of matches for his team, and it can be understood. So, last week Spartak was forced to hold three matches at once: a derby with CSKA, the first game with Braga and a meeting in Samara with Wings of the Soviets. It is not surprising that the footballers did not have enough strength to return to the defense in the second leg with the Portuguese team in the end of the first half.

Unfortunately, despite a competent transfer campaign, it remains to be noted that Spartak still needs to be strengthened. And the same Kononov announced this openly, who emphasized: the team needs an attacker and an opornik. This is logical, because after the departure of Luis Adriano and Ze Luis, the red-and-white were left with one Ezekiel Ponce and Schurrle, who was more used to connecting from the bottom.

Personnel problems of red and white almost immediately made themselves felt - when Ponce received a lengthy suspension and in the RPL Kononov was forced to attack the German. As a result, Andre, although he acted useful, scored only one goal - “Akhmatu”. Yes, and “Spartak” in the last won matches of the championship acted far from perfect. “Akhmat” with “Wings of the Soviets” beat the red and white in the class, although they could have lost points if the opponents were less wasteful. But with CSKA “Spartak” frankly lucky. Kononov wards failed the first half, but were able to keep the gate intact, and in the second half, courage caught Samuel Gigot.

As for the supporting zone, it is obvious that Guliyev and Zobnin alone will not stretch the whole season. The number of goals from the support zone or after errors in it from the beginning of the season hints that the team needs a destroyer. There is a young Nail Umyarov in stock, but he is hardly ready right now to take on the burden of leadership in a team that sets ambitious goals. According to media reports, Spartak has almost reached an agreement with Slavia’s leadership on the acquisition of Alex Kral, but the story with Adrien Tamez forces us not to rush things.

Departure for the benefit

The departure of Spartak from European competition was not the most joyful event, but at the same time it was not tragic for the club. Currently Kononov continues to build the team, and to some extent it will be easier if the Muscovites do not have to break into two or three fronts taking into account the Cup of Russia.

Moreover, now Spartak will gain an advantage over the main competitors in the fight for the championship, who will continue to compete in European competitions. While opponents will be forced to act in a fierce schedule, the red and white can calmly prepare for the matches of the national championship. It’s enough to mention that Kononov’s team will play with the main competitors (October 6 with Krasnodar, October 27 with Lokomotiv and December 1 with Zenit) after the matches of the group stages of the Champions League and the Europa League.

In this regard, we can recall how difficult it was a year ago in the fall of Lokomotiv, when the team participated in three tournaments at once, and Yuri Semin complained that the league was not going to meet the railway workers. As a result, the red-green ones failed in the Champions League, and in the RPL in the fall they didn’t look their best, thereby allowing Zenit to create a springboard for the championship.

But “Spartak” three years ago began the path to historical championship with a relegation from the Europa League. Then the red and white sensationally lost to AEK, and the headquarters of Dmitry Alenichev was dismissed. He was replaced by Massimo Carrera. Perhaps the red and white also begin the path to the title, but without rearrangements on the coaching bridge.

And Kononov, apparently, has a good credit of trust. He was entrusted with the construction of a new team, and the leadership seems to be ready for side effects in the form of defeats and the departure from tournaments. Of course, the formation of a team cannot do without failures. On the contrary, it is respectable as Spartak, having changed almost half of the roster and having lost a number of players, began to regularly gain points and caught up with the leaders of the standings.