On the eve of the final round of the Champions League group stage, Lokomotiv lost all chances to continue playing in European competitions. Yuri Syomin’s wards are on the fourth line of Quartet D and couldn’t leave her at any outcome. In this regard, one of the main issues was the level of motivation of the guests in the match with Madrid “Atletico”.
On the one hand, for the railway workers, it had no tournament significance, therefore, did not expect them to play at maximum opportunities. On the other hand, excessive relaxation could lead to another painful lesion, which could not only overshadow the mood before the holidays, but also worsen the position of Semin. Last week, rumors appeared in the media about a possible resignation of a specialist.
In light of this, the fourth failure in a row in two weeks could cause fierce discontent of the fans and provoke a new wave of talk about the possible departure of Semin. Given the fact that a wave of criticism of Sergei Semak was caused by the defeat of Zenit from Benfica, it was not worth excluding that the Lokomotiv coach could well be the next “victim”.
In addition to prestige and peace of mind around the team, solid prize money was at stake. So, in the Champions League, the bonus for the victory is € 2.7 million, while a draw is estimated at € 900 thousand, which is an excellent motivation for any participant in the tournament. In addition, a successful performance could bring Russia precious points in the UEFA ranking. Given the failure of domestic clubs in the current European Cup season, each point was worth its weight in gold.
The starting lineup of Lokomotiv did not give reason to doubt their serious mood for the match against Atlético. From the first minutes, almost all the leaders appeared on the field, including Grzegorz Krychowiak and Alexei Miranchuk, for whom this meeting promised to be another chance to attract the attention of European clubs. Earlier, the midfielder had already managed to attract the attention of Italian grandees and could well consolidate the result. At the same time, his brother Anton remained on the bench, and the injured Marinato Guillerme, Vladislav Ignatiev and João Mariu were not even in stock. In addition, Dmitry Barinov was absent due to busting yellow cards.
However, if Lokomotiv fought exclusively for its name, then Atletico fought for a ticket to the Champions League playoffs. After five rounds, he had seven points - just one more than Bayer. Thus, only a victory guaranteed wards Diego Simeone a ticket to the 1/8 finals, while any other result left the Germans a chance.
The mood of the "mattresses" became visible already in the debut. The hosts immediately rushed forward and already at the 32nd second earned an 11-meter. Anton Kochenkov unsuccessfully played at the exit and knocked down João Felix. Kieran Trippier made a penalty, but the Russian goalkeeper corrected his own mistake and transferred the ball into the post.
However, 16 minutes later, even the goalkeeper of the railway workers was powerless. “Atletico” continued to besiege the gates of “Locomotive” and again made the defenders make a mistake. 2014 World Champion Benedict Höwedes played a hand in his own box and forced the video assistant to signal the Chief Referee Viktor Kashshai. Hungarian went to the monitor and pointed to the “point” for the second time. This time, Felix volunteered to beat and did not blunder.
After that, the hosts slowed down a bit and allowed the guests to spend several attacks. All the same Krykhovyak and Miranchuk were soloing - the ubiquitous Pole managed to both launch attacks and work out a lot in defense, and the Russian was engaged in delivering the ball to the penalty area. But the most remarkable thing is that Alexey also actively entered the fight, which was never his hallmark.
But in the 25th minute, the ball was again in the net of red-green. Alvaro Morata reopened in the penalty area, and the three central defenders could not prevent the Spaniard. But it did the VAR system. The video assistant noted that the striker was in an offside position and did not allow him to score the second goal in the current Champions League draw.
The rest of the half went with a solid advantage for Atlético, but Lokomotiv managed to avoid the second missed goal. At the same time, the main character on the field was Felix. He beat several rivals at a time, made long speed jerks and did not hesitate to beat. Thus, the Portuguese showed that the Spanish club had not in vain paid € 126 million for him.
In the second half, the wards of Simeone came out even more charged than in the first. All this led to another wave of attacks on the gates of the railroad, culminating in a goal by Augusto Felipe. The hosts played a corner, which was a revelation for the guests, and Koke noticed the run-in of the Brazilian defender. He broke to the near post and in a beautiful jump sent the ball into the net.
In the middle of half-time, the position of Lokomotiv became even more deplorable. During the next offensive, Angel Correa burst into the opponent's penalty area, but instead of the ball hit the leg of Vedran Chorluka. He cried out to the lawn and could not continue the game. As a result, the Croatian defender was able to leave the field only on a stretcher, and his place was taken by 20-year-old Stanislav Magkeev.
Semin tried to turn the tide of the meeting with the help of a replacement and threw Fedor Smolov into battle, but his appearance could not change the balance of power. “Atletico” did not allow Lokomotiv to create a sharpness at the gates of Jan Cloud and confidently brought the match to victory. The hosts scored the next three points and took second place in the group, and the guests suffered a fifth defeat in a row and on a minor note completed their performance in European competitions this season.