The return of Alexei Miranchuk and João Mariu in stock
Lokomotiv and Rostov approached the full-time match in Cherkizovo, being in the group of leaders. And if the good performance of the railroad workers did not come as a surprise, the confident actions of the yellow-blue pleasantly surprised. Wards Valery Karpin at the start of the season suffered only one defeat and won four victories.
True, in Moscow, according to statistics, the team did not expect anything good, because Rostov beat Loko for the last time three years ago, back in the era of Kurban Berdyev. Since then, the rivals have had seven face-to-face meetings, and the Rostovites have achieved only two draws in them. And in the RPL, the southerners completely lost red-green four times in a row.
But this time, Rostov, which scored an excellent move, was aimed at least scoring one point, especially since in April the Karpin team took away an effective draw from Cherkizovo in the framework of the Russian Cup - 2: 2. Then “Rostov” was not enough before the victory. True, in the return match, “Loco” on the road gained the upper hand and as a result won the trophy.
The teams came to the next meeting practically without losses and were able to put all the strongest on the field. Unless Karpin could not count on the young midfielder Daniil Glebov, but released Ivelin Popov instead. The newcomer Alexander Saplinov, who scored the winning goal against Rubin in the last round, also got a starting place again.
At “Lokomotiv” Alexey Miranchuk returned to the starting lineup, who started the game with “Krasnodar” in reserve due to a slight malaise. João Mariou, rented from Inter, also entered the application, but the Portuguese, as expected, did not identify the basis for Yuri Semin.
The active start of Loko and the goal of the guests in the locker room
The railway workers, as expected, from the first minutes seized the initiative and took the ball under their control. However, the guests themselves were not opposed to just such a scenario. They calmly settled in defense and waited for moments for counterattacks.
Owners to break the opponent’s defense was very difficult, and most of the most dangerous moments wards of Semin created after strikes from a long distance. So, already at the beginning of the meeting, Fyodor Smolov from outside the penalty area almost spun the ball into the near corner. And a little later, Yegor Baburin not without difficulty parried a powerful shot of Grzegorz Kryhovyak.
But the advantage of Loko was becoming more noticeable, and it seemed that the team was about to score. In a couple of episodes, the guests were forced to literally take the ball out of their box. However, the injury to Alexei Miranchuk broke the entire game for the railroad workers. In the middle of the half, the midfielder unsuccessfully landed on the lawn after a single combat with Matthias Norman and asked for a replacement. Apparently, Alexei, who spent the 200th match as part of the red-green ones, received damage to the back of his thigh.
Instead, just Mariu appeared on the field. But the Portuguese exit did not positively affect the team. It is not surprising that a player who participated in only a few red-green training sessions felt like an extraneous element and acted out of place.
“Rostov” instantly felt a slack and in the end of the inning became more active, which led to the goal scored. Luck wards Karpina brought the standard. After an excellent pitch by Roman Eremenko from the corner, Eldor Shomurodov struck his head precisely into the far corner and caught up with Alexander Sobolev in the RPL scorers race - six goals each.
The incredible salvation of Baburin and Assists Mari
The second half Lokomotiv started with a great desire to recoup and, like in the opening of the meeting, at first had the advantage. But “Rostov” very quickly pushed the game away from their gates and he suddenly went ahead.
As a result, the courage of the guests was embodied in the second goal scored. And again succeeded in distinguishing Shomurodov. A productive attack began with the loss of the home team in midfield and the breakthrough of Alexei Ionov on the left flank. In addition, the midfielder managed to push the ball into the penalty area to Shomurodov, who sent a shot from close range between the legs of Guillerme and with seven goals rose to the first line in the list of championship snipers.
After this, Semin had no choice but to go all-in and let out another striker - Luka Dzhorzhevich. Karpin, in response, switched to a game with three central defenders: Saplinov was replaced by Arseniy Logashov, who previously played for Loko.
The railroad workers managed to return the ball to their control, all the more so the Rostovites were tired, and moments began to arise at the gates of Baburin. In a couple of episodes, Yegor himself played great. So, after a dangerous blow by Dmitry Barinov, the goalkeeper miraculously transferred the shell to the post. And 15 minutes before the end, Anton Miranchuk from the penalty kick struck the crossbar.
However, soon Anton still managed to excel. After the pass and transfer of the rookie Mariu, the midfielder from the penalty line struck precisely in the near corner. Of course, in the end, “Locomotive” went ahead with the whole team, but could both score and miss. For example, Shomurodov, after a mistake by Guillerme, nearly scored a hat-trick, but missed the target.
And already in the time added by the referee, Evgeny Chernov made an incredible double salvation on the “ribbon”. Substitute Georgievich twice in a row tried to break through the defender who returned to the last frontier, but failed to do so. It seems that Evgeny himself did not believe in his double save after the final whistle.
Well, “Rostov” managed to win a major victory over a direct competitor and at least maintain a place in the group of leaders. At the same time, the yellow-blue beat the railway workers for the first time in three years. In addition, Syomin’s wards suffered their first home defeat since November 2018, when they unexpectedly lost to Ural in Cherkizovo.