Third title in 33 days: Ozdoev's masterpiece goal helped Zenit beat Lokomotiv in the Russian Super Cup match

Zenit's chance to make history

The ended season was triumphant for Zenit, and on Friday at VEB-Arena the blue-white-blue could put a golden point in it. Petersburgers won a landslide victory in the Russian Championship, and then won the Cup. In case of success in the match for the Super Cup, the country, the team could for the first time in history make a “golden hat-trick”, collecting all the domestic trophies.

Over the years, the team from the Northern capital took seven championships, five Cups and five Super Cups, but it was not possible to combine them together. And the closest thing to this "Zenith" was in the Soviet period. In 1984, Petersburgers won the championship and the USSR Cup, but were defeated in an analogue of the Super Cup, the USSR Season Cup.

In turn, Lokomotiv had to defend the trophy that the RPL silver medalist won exactly a year ago. Then the railroad workers in the decisive match turned out to be stronger than Zenit - 3: 2. This trophy was the last for the red-greens in the era of Yuri Semin.

The next meeting of rivals was accompanied by a lot of rumors. So, according to media reports, a coronavirus outbreak occurred in a club from St. Petersburg on the eve of a trip to the capital. Zenit denied this information. In the end, only Denis Terentyev and Daniil Shamkin were not included in the application for the match, who emphasized that they had not passed positive tests for COVID-19.

But all the other leaders of the champion were on the roster, and Sergei Semak put on the field the strongest line-up. Unless the place of Branislav Ivanovic was expectedly taken by the newcomer of the team Dejan Lovren. In the absence of Emanuel Mammana, who had gone on loan at Sochi, the coaching staff had no choice but to pair an experienced Croat with Yaroslav Rakitskiy in the center of defense, who arrived in Russia only on Sunday.

Our composition! #ZenitLoko pic.twitter.com/Qn9Kh0ff8r

The game was not without organizational difficulties. It was reported that, contrary to the regulations, the match could take place without extra time. Allegedly, the First Channel, broadcasting the game, requested this. However, in the end, the rules of the game remained the same, and in the event of a draw in the main 90 minutes, the opponents had to spend an additional half hour.

As for Lokomotiv's roster, Marko Nikolic, like Semak, also did without surprises. For example, Fyodor Smolov, who returned from loan at Celta, remained in reserve, and Eder, who extended his contract with the club, came out on top of the attack. But the newcomers of the team of Vitaly Lystsov and Jasurbek Jaloliddinov were not even in reserve.

And here is our squad for the #ZenitLoko match ✊🏻 pic.twitter.com/mytsRZOdoN

Zenit's quick goal and Lokomotiv's advantage

Zenit started the match more actively and created a dangerous moment already in the first minutes. Sebastian Driussi, after Artem Dziuba's discount from outside the penalty area with the outside of the foot, struck above the gate.

Lokomotiv responded with an unpleasant shot from Anton Miranchuk from 20 meters. Mikhail Kerzhakov, replacing the injured Andrei Lunev, coped with the threat without any problems, reflecting the ball to the side.

And already in the 14th minute, Petersburgers managed to open an account. Semak's wards carried out a quick attack on the left flank, and Dziuba, after a perfect serve by Douglas dos Santos, sent a shell under the supporting leg of Marinato Guilherme with his head. At the same time, Vedran Chorluka, who was closing the newly-minted Zenit captain, did not keep track of his opponent and outright lost to him in riding combat.

Having scored, the champion gave the initiative to the opponent and went into defense. As a result, the railroad workers in the first half had possession of the ball for 58% of the playing time, but did not create dangerous moments with the exception of Anton Miranchuk's strike, although they struck twice as many shots as the opponent - eight against four.

The attacks of the red-greens were usually static. They obviously lacked speed, and Zenit players calmly managed to overlap their counterparts. The players of the Moscow team did not penetrate into the penalty area of ​​the Petersburgers at all. And the couple Rakitsky - Lovren did not make mistakes. Only the Miranchuk brothers tried to exacerbate the situation with unusual moves, but they did not succeed either. Eder, however, completely disappeared into the field.

Zenit's counterattacks looked more promising. One Dziuba earned several free throws. However, Semak's wards did not have any really dangerous moments, who in the first 45 minutes inflicted only two shots on the target of Guilherme's goal.

The fall of Miranchuk in the penalty area and Lovren's mistake

But the second half turned out to be much more interesting than the first. No sooner had the players returned to the field than Zenit created the most dangerous moment. The railroad workers failed on the left flank of the defense, and Magomed Ozdoev struck the post from close range from a fairly sharp angle. From her, the ball ricocheted into Guilherme's leg and jumped back into the field.

Football became even more open after an hour of play, when Nikolic decided to throw Smolov into battle instead of the inert Eder. In addition, after a corner, the Portuguese unsuccessfully collided with Kerzhakov and was injured.

No sooner had the striker returned from loan to enter the field, as he created a dangerous moment. Smolov competently burst into someone else's penalty area under a cutting pass from Anton Miranchuk, but struck exactly into the hands of Kerzhakov.

At that moment Lokomotiv managed to really push the opponent to the goal for a few minutes. The footballers of the Moscow team finally began to penetrate into someone else's penalty area. Moreover, in the course of one of these episodes, the judge Mikhail Vilkov could appoint a penalty kick to the gates of Petersburgers. Oleksiy Miranchuk fell after a tackle by Vilmar Barrios, but the referee, after consulting with his colleagues at VAR, decided that there was no foul.

However, as soon as it seemed that Lokomotiv might just level the score, Zenit scored. The railroad workers once again played extremely unsuccessfully on the left flank of the defense. Maciej Rybus with Grzegorz Krychowiak set out on Malcolm together and forgot about Driussi. In turn, the Argentinian, having received the ball, made a perfect pass to the oncoming Ozdoev, who immediately from outside the penalty area sent a projectile into the net with a rebound from the crossbar.

But the railroad workers instantly revived the intrigue. Nikolic's charges failed to score from the game, but the standard position helped the team score. After a corner kick from the left flank, Anton Miranchuk made an excellent discount on Chorluka, who sent the ball into the net from close range. At the same time, the newcomer Lovren did not follow the Croat in this episode.

After that, the game finally opened up, and the players of both teams went ahead, forgetting about defense. As part of Loko, one substitute Rifat Zhemaletdinov struck three shots on the goal, but all of them lacked accuracy.

At a difficult moment for the champion, Semak promptly refreshed the ranks, completing four changes at once. In particular, the tired Dziuba went to rest. Experienced Yuri Zhirkov, Alexander Erokhin, Emiliano Rigoni and Andrey Mostovoy, who made their debut in the first team of Zenit, appeared on the field. Nikolic responded with the exit of Dmitry Rybchinsky.

Vilkov added four minutes to the main time of the match, but Lokomotiv failed to organize the final assault.

Thus, the Petersburgers won a difficult victory and for the first time in history made a “golden hat-trick”, having won all the domestic trophies. Also, the blue-white-blue won the Russian Super Cup for the fifth time and are second only to CSKA in this indicator (7). Lokomotiv failed to win the first trophy under the leadership of Nikolic.