Uncounted balls from Rybchinsky and Dziuba and not a single hit by the champion on target: Lokomotiv and Zenit drew in the RPL

Second team meeting in 23 days and staffing problems

On Sunday, the reigning champion of the country "Zenith" and the silver medalist of the last RPL draw "Lokomotiv" met for the second time in 23 days. 

In early August, the teams opened the new season with a match for the Russian Super Cup. The victory was won by the citizens of St. Petersburg, who added another trophy to the club museum. 

The wards of Sergei Semak also succeeded in the start of the national championship. They won four matches in a row and confidently topped the standings. However, last round was followed by an unexpected away defeat from Dynamo, which became the first for the blue-white-blue in the Premier League in 333 days. Spartak took advantage of the rival's misfire on Saturday, beating Arsenal and displacing Zenit from the first place.

Lokomotiv, having scored six points out of six possible in the first two rounds, took only one point in the next three meetings. Injuries contributed to the unsuccessful performance of the railroad workers. So, in the match with Akhmat a few days ago, Dmitry Barinov and Alexey Miranchuk were unable to take part because of health problems. The latter, in the event of a successful medical examination, will be transferred to the Italian Atalanta. 

Moreover, in the game with Grozny due to damage during the break, Vedran Chorluk had to change captain. Fortunately for the fans of the red-greens, the Croat managed to recover by the time of the match with Zenit. 

But another key performer of the team - Grzegorz Krychowiak - was not included in the application due to inflammation of the gastrocnemius muscle. Thus, Marko Nikolic had to release a couple of young pupils of the club academy, 21-year-old Stanislav Makgeev and 22-year-old Daniil Kulikov, into the support zone.

In the attack, the owners' coaching staff decided to bet on Fedor Smolov, not Eder, on this one. From the flanks of the Russian forward, François Camano and Dmitry Rybchinsky were supported.

Not without losses and "Zenith". In the match with Dynamo, Sebastian Driussi got a knee injury, and Vilmar Barrios received a red card. As a result, Semak expectedly moved Douglas dos Santos to the support zone, and left the left flank of the defense at the mercy of the most experienced Yuri Zhirkov. Finally, the Argentine in the starting lineup was replaced by Andrei Mostovoy, who received a call to the Russian national team.

Non-dangerous advantage of Zenit and a controversial decision of the judge

Despite staffing problems, the hosts took the initiative in the first minutes. They took control of the ball and made some promising attacks. 

The culmination of this segment was Rybchinsky's uncounted goal. Having received a pass from Smolov in the right corner of the penalty area, Dmitry struck a powerful blow exactly in the near nine. Mikhail Kerzhakov failed to react to the opponent's shot. 

However, referee Vladimir Moskalev, after consulting with assistants at VAR, decided not to count the goal due to a microscopic offside position at Rybchinsky.

Zenith gradually changed the course of the meeting and moved the game to half of the opponent's field. But it quickly became clear that the guests were having serious difficulties with penetrating into someone else's penalty area. The bloodless Lokomotiv defended itself in a disciplined manner and practically did not leave any free zones. In the center of defense, Murilo and Chorluka did not allow Artem Dziuba and Serdar Azmun to run away.

As a result, the captain of the Russian national team was forced to go to the flanks in order to push the less powerful Vladislav Ignatiev and Matsey Rybus there. Malcolm was not very noticeable either.

But all that the reigning champion at the gates of Marinato Guilherme managed to create in the first half was two harmless strikes. Petersburgers never even managed to hit the target. 

Lokomotiv managed this, except for Rybchinsky's uncounted goal, only once. In the middle of the half, Smolov ran into someone else's penalty area after a long pass by Chorluka, rocked Deyan Lovren and shot into the near corner. Kerzhakov easily took the ball. 

The rest of the counterattacks by the railroad workers practically did not pass, and the guests owned the ball for 62% of the playing time, but without aggravating the situation. One got the impression that the first goal in this meeting is likely to be the last. 

Smart substitutions from Nikolic and dangerous approaches of the owners

The second half of the meeting turned out to be more eventful than the first. The players did not have time to return to the field, as Dzyuba, after Vyacheslav Karavaev's discount, sent the ball into the net from close range. 

However, the judge, as expected, canceled the goal, since both Karavaev and Azmun played along with their hands in this episode. Thus, the referee did not score two goals at once in this fight. 

Lokomotiv responded by shifting Kamano from the left flank to the center and not the strongest and most accurate shot to the near corner.

And on the 66th minute Nikolic made a double substitution. He removed the tired Smolov and Kamano from the field and completely refreshed the line of attack, releasing Vitaly Lisakovich with Eder. 

The castling helped the hosts to seize the initiative for several minutes and create a couple of dangerous moments at the Kerzhakov goal. So, Miranchuk almost hit the far corner from the penalty area, and Eder struck his head higher. 

Semak soon responded to his counterpart with his replacements. Zenit's mentor decided to increase the pressure on the opponent's right flank, which was occupied by the age Ignatiev. Emiliano Rigoni entered the midfield line, and Danil Krugovoy was located under him. At the same time, Mostovoy made a pair in the attack to Dziube instead of Azmun who went to rest. 

However, the guests did not manage to extract special dividends from these permutations. Rather, the railroad workers in the end could snatch victory. For example, Lisakovich did not have enough centimeters to close Miranchuk's cross. In general, the Belarusian, as in the game against Akhmat, left a very pleasant impression on the fans. 

Semak in the 86th minute made another double substitution and threw Alexander Erokhin into the battle with Alexei Sutormin, but this did not help Zenit snatch victory. Moreover, Petersburgers in 90 minutes did not manage to land a shot on target of Guilherme's goal, and in the second half they managed with one blow. 

Thus, the Petersburgers lost points in the second RPL match in a row and allowed Spartak to remain in first place. Lokomotiv interrupted a series of two defeats in a row in the national championship, but cannot win from the second round.