The confrontation between Spartak and Ufa was considered as one of the key in the 24th round of the RPL. Largely for the reason that the winner received a solid advantage in the fight for the sixth line, which in the future may give the right to compete in European competitions. And if Muscovites still have the opportunity to qualify for the Europa League through the Cup of Russia, then their opponents have to rely only on a successful performance in the championship.
Help for the “citizens” was to be the loss of two major players from the opponent. Due to the exhaustion of yellow cards, defenders Georgy Djikia and Ayrton missed the meeting, which forced Domenico Tedesco to carry out serious rearrangements. The 22-year-old Ilya Gaponov entered the center of defense, and the role of the left lateral was called upon to be performed by the nominal right defender Andrei Yeshchenko. However, the German specialist did not stop there and left Alexander Sobolev on the bench, betting on a couple of forwards in the person of Esekiel Ponce and Jordan Larsson. Thus, Spartak did not have a single legionnaire to replace it.
As part of Ufa, there was no place for Andreas Vombergar and Igor Bezdenezhnykh. A week ago, rumors appeared that both players had suspicions of a coronavirus, as a result of which it was decided to disconnect them from the main team and quarantine them. Also, Vyacheslav Krotov, who received a fourth warning in the game with Tambov, did not get into the application.
One of the main intrigues of the match was which team would decide to move away from their favorite manner of acting on counterattacks and decide to play the first number. As owners, the red-white took control of the ball, but did not succeed much in this. Vadim Evseev expectedly relied on massive defense, forcing all field players to retreat to his half. Eight - nine opponents were often met at the penalty area of Spartak football players, which practically deprived them of the opportunity to create anything dangerous at the gates of Alexander Belenov.
In this regard, it is not surprising that the brightest moment arose as a result of a quick attack. In the compensated time for the first half, the guests were too keen on playing the attack and weakened their vigilance. Gaponov made a spectacular interception in the tackle and performed an accurate transmission of 50 meters. The ball was at Larsson, but he could not transfer the goalkeeper who came out of the goal and put the Moscow team in the lead of the season in terms of the number of goals after counterattacks. At the moment, she shares the first place with Sochi (six goals each).
In the first half, the “townspeople” limited themselves to one dangerous episode at the goal of the opponent. After a corner, Oston Urunov was quickest of all and powerfully struck his head, but missed the target. But already in the first ten minutes of the second, the Ufa residents made Alexander Maksimenko nervous three times. Gross errors of Pavel Maslov and Nikolai Rasskazov led to the blows of the same Urunov and who replaced Artyom Golubev from outside the penalty area, and Daniil Fomin almost sent the ball into the corner from the standard.
Tedesco reacted to a change in the balance of forces on the field and made two replacements at once. Instead of Zelimkhan Bakaev and Jordan Larsson, Nail Umyarov and Alexander Sobolev entered the field. And if the appearance of the striker could be explained by the desire of the German specialist to deliver the ball to the penalty box on horseback more often, then leaving the tenth number is perhaps due to its imperfect physical condition. In late May, the midfielder was ill with a coronavirus and could well not have time to get in shape.
But the transformation of the coach did not have the desired effect. Yes, the red-and-white pressed the opponent to the goal, but it didn’t go further. The hosts acted according to the standard scheme: a long cast for Sobolev and a discount for Ponce, but the guests were perfectly prepared for this. In almost 20 minutes, Muscovites were only once close to leaving Belenov out of business. The ex-striker of Krylia Sovetov received a pass in the penalty area and tried to punch through himself, but instead of the ball he hit the head of the Ufa defender.
Tedesco realized that Spartak’s attacks lacked sharpness and removed Ponce from the game, firing Reziuan Mirzov in his place. Also, a debutant appeared on the field in the person of 18-year-old Ilya Golosov, who replaced Andrei Yeshchenko. The hosts accelerated the pace, maximized the pressure on the enemy and squeezed him. Another filing of Roman Zobnin from the flank was found in the penalty area by Sobolev, who processed it with the first touch, and easily beat Belenov with the second. Fans of Spartak were already ready to celebrate, but referee Vladislav Bezborodov canceled the goal after watching the video replay. In his opinion, offside Samuel Gigot prevented the goalkeeper from responding to a shot.
However, the controversial episodes in the match did not end there. Already in the added time, the red-white famously played a free kick, but the very same Sobolev effectively struck from the summer. Belenov managed to hit, but the repetition could give the impression that the ball still crossed the line. However, Bezborodov again did not point to the center.
“Spartak” for the third time of the season tied in their field and could not take revenge from “Ufa” for the defeat in the first round. Nevertheless, Tedesco wards retained their sixth place and one point closer to CSKA, located on the fifth line. The assets of the army team are four points more.