Catastrophic losses of Krasnodar

Unlike Zenit, which in recent years has gained serious experience in the main European Cup, the ambitious Krasnodar was to make its debut in the Champions League group stage.

And if the Petersburgers received an additional advantage in the form of the outbreak of the coronavirus in the Bruges camp, the southerners themselves suffered from this problem.

Literally on the eve of the match, a statement appeared on the club's official website that striker Yevgeny Markov and midfielder Remy Cabella passed the "dubious" tests for COVID-19.

Both players were isolated from the team and did not fly to France.

The loss of the Russian can hardly be called a disaster for Krasnodar, but the absence of the Frenchman became a big problem for the Champions League debutant.

In the current season, the legionnaire is the real leader of the team and has scored eight points on the “goal + pass” system (6 + 2) in all tournaments.

In particular, two goals in his performance helped the RPL bronze medalist to pass PAOK in the playoff round of the Champions League qualification. 

We must not forget that Victor Klasson, Ari, Wanderson, Ruslan Kambolov, Alexander Martynovich and Dmitry Stotsky did not fly to France due to various injuries.

That is, Krasnodar was left without eight players at once.

Finally, head coach Murad Musaev's angina became an additional problem for the guests.

Although the specialist passed a negative test for coronavirus, he also did not go to Rennes.

However, his assistant Artur Olenin, on the eve of the meeting, assured that what happened should not become a serious problem.

“We have prepared the players, the players have to fulfill all the requirements set by the head coach ... You just need to fulfill the installation,” the official YouTube channel of Krasnodar quotes the coach.

As a result, the composition of the southerners turned out to be quite experimental.

For example, on the edges of the midfield are the nominal defenders Christian Ramirez and Igor Smolnikov.

And the position under the striker was taken by the defensive player Daniil Utkin.

The unyielding character of the southerners

"Rennes", which also made its debut in the Champions League, with the support of the home stands from the first minutes went ahead.

In general, the hosts had 61% of the playing time before the break, and Krasnodar had to defend.

The first shot on goal by Matvey Safonov was not long in coming.

After a head shot performed by Benjamin Burigo, the young goalkeeper took the shell firmly.

However, the attacks of the French team, as a rule, did not reach someone else's penalty area.

Julien Stefan's wards made combinations in the middle of the field, but could not break the opponent's defense line, in the center of which were Yegor Sorokin and Cayo Pantaleao. 

The danger was mainly carried by the long-range shots of Rennes, especially in the performance of 17-year-old Eduardo Kamavinzhi.

So, after a sly shot of a young football player from outside the penalty area in the middle of the first half, Safonov pulled the ball out from under the crossbar with great difficulty.

In general, in the first half, the hosts chalked up three shots on target, and Safonov - three saves. 

At the same time, Krasnodar's counterattacks turned out to be no less dangerous.

In the 33rd minute, the score was almost opened by Marcus Berg.

After Sergei Petrov's perfect lumbago, the Swede seemed to be hitting the empty goal, but Naif Ager brought the ball out of the line.

Finally, at the end of the first half, Alfred Gomis barely parried a long-range shot by Christopher Olsson into the near corner, and then Kayo, after serving from a standard, struck a little inaccurately. 

Goal exchange at the beginning of the second half

In the second half, "Rennes" continued to push and in the end he got his way.

However, the defenders of Krasnodar did their best to allow the opponent to open an account.

Kayo dribbled near the side and lost the ball. 

Martin Terrier, who "robbed" him, rushed into the penalty area at a speed and competently set himself up under Sorokin's sloppy tackle.

The Russian obviously knocked down his opponent, but the judge, only taking a pause, pointed to the "point". 

Safonov was close to saving his team even in this situation.

He guessed the direction of the ball and even reached for it after hitting Seru Girassi, but the projectile still ended up in the net. 

It seemed that by allowing the opponent to excel, the bloodless guests could surrender, but instead they equalized the score after a few minutes.

Christian Ramirez, having received the ball near the left corner of someone else's penalty, turned around his own axis and shot into the near nine.

Gomis was clearly not ready for this and could not save his team. 

On emotions, the Southerners even seized the initiative for a while and settled in the opponent's half of the field, but fatigue still began to affect.

In addition, 20 minutes before the final whistle, Olenin was forced to change Petrov to Magomed-Shapi Suleimanov due to injury. 

The hosts' coaching staff made replacements to strengthen the attack line.

In particular, Jérémy Doku, Flavien Teth and Adrien Enu appeared on the field. 

And in the end, Krasnodar really pressed against their goal and could have missed the second goal, if not for Safonov's impressive performance.

So, in the 71st minute, he, having correctly taken the position, reflected the blow of Theta.

But the young Russian goalkeeper made the main save shortly before the end of regular time.

Safonov miraculously managed to react to Enu's powerful shot from the bottom of the penalty area.

Moreover, Matvey, at the risk of injury, threw himself at the opponent's feet and did not allow the finishing move.

The referee added six minutes to the main time of the match, but in reality the meeting ended only on the 98th.

However, Krasnodar, despite numerous losses, managed to show character and successfully debut in the Champions League.

A draw in this situation for the southerners is tantamount to a victory.