Three points of Glushakov and “necessary words” by Shalimov

In the first match of the RPL after a pause, two outsiders of the championship fought because of the coronavirus. “Wings of the Soviets” and “Akhmat” had a bright meeting and scored six goals for two. The hosts were confident after the first half, but in the second they fell. A quarter of an hour was enough for the guests to hit the gates of Yevgeny Frolov four times and gain a victory. Subsequently, Samara’s mentor Miodrag Bozovic called what happened “shock.” At the same time, his counterpart Igor Shalimov admitted that he was able to find the right words in the locker room. True, he refused to tell which ones.

It is noteworthy that at the same time six players appeared on the field at once, at different times defending the colors of Spartak, and it was with their direct participation that four goals were issued. Of course, one of the main characters was Denis Glushakov. The ex-captain of the red and white scored himself and helped to double Vladimir Ilyin. And the last goal scored by the guests was built by Alexander Gatskan, who had not once come to the courtyard in Tarasovka, and Maxim Glushenkov, who was sent for rent.

The defeat of young pupils of Rostov

The most resonant was the meeting between Sochi and Rostov. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19 infection, guests were forced to expose the youth squad and were expected to be defeated.

In the Rostov club, cases of coronavirus infection were recorded. According to the new medical regulations of the RFU, the main team had to quarantine. At the same time, the leadership of the Sochi team refused to go towards the opponent and postpone the game, stating that there was no opportunity to hold the match on another day.

Rostov’s mentor Valery Karpin appealed to the RPL rules, in which there is a clause on force majeure conditions, in the event of which the RPL management should decide on reschedule meetings. However, Karpin was never heard, the Premier League refused to consider the outbreak of COVID-19 as unforeseen circumstances and did not take part in resolving the dispute between the teams.

As a result, Rostovites had to play with a squad, the average age of which was 17.2 years, and Sochi clearly demonstrated the difference between professional footballers and youth teams. Pupils of the Donetsk fought desperately, but, despite the record of the 17-year-old goalkeeper Denis Popov in the number of salvations and the goal of his peer Roman Romanov, they eventually lost with a score of 1:10.

Wards of Vladimir Fedotov became the first in the history of the league, who managed to score a double-digit number of goals per match. Alexander Kokorin scored a hat-trick, brought the number of goals scored in his career to 102 and entered the club of Grigory Fedotov, and Anton Zabolotny and Dmitry Poloz scored doubles.

However, many called the meeting at Fisht Stadium one of the most shameful pages in the history of the Russian championship. Even their own fans showed Sochi disapproval, and towards the end of regular time they booed the team more and more often.

The return home of the Urals and the successes of the youth of Rubin

Due to the schedule and the long pause, the last two matches of Ural at the Yekaterinburg Arena have been divided for almost seven months. On November 24, 2019, Dmitry Parfyonov’s wards accepted Spartak, and only on June 20, 2020 met at home with Rubin. However, the factor of its field in no way affected the result. “Bumblebees” this season did not perform well at home (three wins, one draw and five defeats), and continued the trend in the reporting match. Kazan took advantage of the hosts' numerous mistakes in defense and won two consecutive wins for the second time this season.

The guests have both goals scored by players under the age of 21. First, Khvich Kvaratskhelia scored a goal with scissors, and then helped Soltmurad Bakayev score. For the pupil of Spartak, this ball was the first in the RPL.

However, in the 81st minute, Rubin remained ten men (this happened in the third meeting in a row), and Vyacheslav Podberezkin became the first player of the team of the season to receive a direct red card. Thus, Kazan came out on top in the number of expulsions from the field (five), dividing it with Dynamo and Wings of the Soviets.

The end of the unsuccessful Spartak series and the scandal with fans

Red and white surprised many experts and interrupted an unsuccessful series of meetings with the Tula, which lasted from December 2017. The match ended with the score 3: 2 and helped the guests to re-enter the fight for a ticket to the Europa League. For seven rounds to the end, the gap between Spartak and the fifth-coming CSKA is only five points, which, taking into account the uniform of the army team and the upcoming full-time meeting, can hardly be called a serious advantage.

Nevertheless, the main events were not the first goal of Alexander Sobolev in eight months and an unsuccessful attack, organized by flank defenders Nikolai Rasskazov and Ayrton. With a score of 3: 0, from the 94th to the 99th minute Spartak missed twice, and the second goal of Arsenal caused another referee scandal. After watching the video replay, the chief referee Yevgeny Turbin made an ambiguous decision, appointing a penalty against the red and white, causing criticism of the club owner Leonid Fedun.

Passions flared up outside the field, where the fans decided to hold Spartak departing from Moscow for Tula, staging a show right on the road along which the bus with the team rode. As a result, several fans of the capital's club were detained at once, they opened a criminal case under article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (hooliganism). As noted by law enforcement agencies, on June 19, “unidentified citizens carried out an unauthorized blocking of the roadway, which prevented the passage of vehicles, set fire to fires and other pyrotechnic means, which caused a smoke screen”.

At the same time, the club issued an official statement calling for the release of the fans, and captain George Djikia even volunteered to pay fines for them, if any.

Zenith records and health problems Goncharenko

In the central match of the 23rd round, Zenit sent four unanswered goals into the opponent’s goal and won the biggest guest victory over CSKA in Russian history. The last time Petersburgers beat Muscovites so away on such a margin in 1954.

Moreover, in the XXI century they only once smashed the army with a greater difference, but at home. In the 2001 season, the meeting at the Petrovsky Stadium ended in a triumph for the hosts with a score of 6: 1. The author of the only accurate strike in the army then became the current coach of blue-white-blue Sergey Semak.

This time, to the devastating defeat of the red and blue, the unbeaten run of which lasted until six meetings, their mentor's health problems were added. According to CSKA head coach Sergei Ovchinnikov, after the final whistle, Viktor Goncharenko raised pressure, as a result of which he was forced to miss a press conference. At the same time, for the Belarusian specialist, Zenit can be safely called one of the most uncomfortable teams. In 13 games with Petersburgers, the teams entrusted to him won only one victory, tied six times and lost the same number of times.

Duel Krotova with Tetrashvili and the refusal to talk about coronavirus

The meeting between “Ufa” and “Tambov” turned out to be a battle and ended with a minimal advantage for the hosts. Daniil Fomin scored two points on the “goal + pass” system, and the author of the decisive goal was Nikolai Giorgobiani, who distinguished himself in the 91st minute. It is noteworthy that earlier in the season wards of Vadim Evseev have never hit the opponent’s goal in compensated time.

Guests have another masterpiece designed by Mikhail Kostyukov. Last season, he was noted for a spectacular hit with his heel, and this season - he threw the ball beautifully over the opponent's goalkeeper. At the same time, Guram Tetrashvili became one of the anti-heroes. First, he hooked Vyacheslav Krotov in his own penalty area, and already in the 36th minute he earned a deletion.

At the same time, the duel between Ufa and Tambov unfolded against the background of a possible threat of the coronavirus. On the eve of the media there was information that the forward of the hosts Andreas Vombergar passed a positive test for COVID-19, but the club did not confirm this. Nevertheless, a graduate of River Plate did not get into the application for the game of the 23rd round, which only added fuel to the fire. Journalists expectedly tried to get an answer from Yevseyev, but in vain. The press services of the groups to which media representatives relayed questions did not ask the mentor a single question about the situation.

Fans rallies in support of Semin and dissatisfaction with refereeing

Lokomotiv did not experience serious problems in the confrontation with Orenburg. The author of the only goal was Alexei Miranchuk, although the railroad could score much more. However, João Mariou could not get into the empty net, and Eder - to realize the 11-meter. Nevertheless, the Moscow club took advantage of the postponement of the meeting with the participation of Krasnodar and reached a clean second place in the standings, and Marko Nikolic began his stay in the capital with a victory. True, the fans did not give him the most cordial welcome. Fans hung out banners in support of former mentor Yuri Syomin, and also urged Vasily Kiknadze, the team’s general manager, to resign, after which some of them left the stands.

It was hot on the field, where the chief referee Stanislav Vasiliev showed a total of 13 yellow cards. Even in the compensated time, by the first half, the second “mustard plaster” got up Rifat Zhemaletdinov, and after the break it was the turn of the representatives of “Orenburg”. In total, they received nine warnings, two of which led to deletions. Particularly egregious was the situation with Daniel Mishkich. After watching the video replay, the judge changed his mind and did not give a penalty for a violation by the Croat, but he still had to leave the field.