In pursuit of Zenit: how Chalov's hat-trick helped CSKA defeat Rostov and take second place in the RPL

Although the match between Rostov and CSKA was inferior to the derby of the two capitals in terms of status, it still remained one of the most important in the 19th round of the RPL.

Firstly, he could well become the last one for Viktor Goncharenko as the head coach of the army team.

By this time, their unbeaten streak had already reached seven meetings in all tournaments, and another misfire could lead to the resignation of the Belarusian specialist.

Secondly, the winner of this game came out on the second place in the championship table.

The hosts had the opportunity to catch up with Spartak in terms of the number of points scored, and the guests had the opportunity to completely bypass the principal rivals by two points.

Both teams approached the match with sub-optimal lineups.

Valery Karpin still could not count on the injured Pavel Mamaev and Kento Hashimoto, but he was certainly delighted with the return of Dennis Hadzhikadunich to the squad.

Initially, he was supposed to miss the meeting due to the busting of yellow cards, but the Control and Disciplinary Committee of the Russian Football Union (FTC RFU) came to the rescue.

Following the results of the extraordinary meeting, it was decided to cancel the yellow card received by the defender in the game against Akhmat.

At CSKA, Kirill Nababkin and Bruno Fuchs, who had recovered from injuries, began training, but both were not included in the application.

Konstantin Maradishvili was not there either.

At the same time, due to disqualification, the match was missed by Ivan Oblyakov, Bakhtiyor Zainutdinov and Ilya Shkurin.

As a result, Ilzat Akhmetov and Nair Tiknizyan came out in the middle line, and Fyodor Chalov played the role of the only forward.

As it turned out, the absence of the Belarusian striker was good for the guests.

Already in the second minute, Chalov found himself in the operational space in front of the penalty area and scored his third goal of the season.

The forward with one barely perceptible movement removed two defenders at once and irresistibly shot from under the defender.

The ball went between the feet of the Rostov footballer, which disorientated the goalkeeper Sergei Pesyakov.

In the opening, events clearly did not develop according to the plan of "Rostov", and after a third of an hour its position became even more complicated.

Matthias Normann was injured and forced to leave the field.

Surely, many assumed that the Norwegian would be replaced by the more experienced Danil Glebov, but Karpin preferred 18-year-old Danila Sukhomlinov to him.

Until now, the player has played for the main team only twice, and spent a total of 27 minutes on the field.

At the same time, it is significant that his debut took place in the first round meeting with CSKA.

Nevertheless, such problems did not break the hosts, who had more possession of the ball (57% - 43%) and generally had a very good first half.

Yes, in terms of the number of blows they lost to their opponent (8:12), but they were very close to restoring parity.

Moreover, in one of the episodes, it was Sukhomlinov who led the attack.

The young midfielder alternately removed two opponents on the swing, after which he shot dangerously low, but Igor Akinfeev rescued his partners.

Khoren Bayramyan and Denis Terentyev also had good chances to excel, but both missed from deadly positions.

It should be noted that at the end of the first half, Chalov became the most active player with a large margin.

In addition to an accurate shot in the second minute, he hit Pesyakov's goal five more times, but he never managed to disturb the goalkeeper.

The second hit on target occurred only in the 57th minute, but again became effective.

Dzagoev received the ball after a throw-in from an out-of-bounds and with one touch not only "cut off" two opponent's defenders, but also allowed Tiknizyan to break through to the left border of the goalkeeper's area.

The midfielder did not become greedy and beat himself from an acute angle, instead he performed the transfer to the undisguised Fedor.

He neatly ferried the ball into the net.

However, Rostov had no reason to give up.

Karpin's wards were encouraged by both their own activity in the first half, and the fact that CSKA consistently missed in the second half in the last three RPL meetings.

Taking this into account, it could be assumed that the owners will still be able, if not to level the score, then at least to revive the intrigue in the match.

However, they suddenly wilted and until the 91st minute never bothered Akinfeev. 

CSKA surpassed the enemy in all aspects, and eight minutes before the end of regular time brought the score to a large one.

Chalov opened up great behind the defender and struck his head irresistibly from outside the penalty area, completing a hat-trick.

True, the already traditional unsuccessful ending in the performance of the army team was not without.

In the last minutes, the guests frankly gave up playing and made several losses, for which they paid.

The protracted attack ended with a serve by Roman Eremenko from the left flank and a cross by Maxim Osipenko in the fall.

After the rebound, the ball turned out to be at the substitute Alexei Kozlov, who “soaked” the score.

CSKA defeated Rostov with a score of 3: 1 and finished the first part of the RPL season on the second line.

Goncharenko's players scored 37 points and were only four behind the leading Zenit.

Karpin's team with 32 points remained in fifth place.