The first round of the new RPL season turned out to be quite productive.
In eight matches, the teams hit each other's gates 24 times.
In each meeting, the fans witnessed at least two goals, and only one team, Ural, failed to score.
Such productivity in attacking actions is quite understandable, since in the summer on good fields RPL rivals have the opportunity to demonstrate brighter football.
Much more surprised that almost a third of the goals (seven) the players scored from outside the penalty area.
And we are not talking about the execution of standard provisions - only Krasnodar midfielder Eduard Spertsyan scored at the weekend in a meeting with Fakel.
The rest six were scored from the game and provided a number of teams with the most important points.
So, Ivan Oblyakov's kick helped CSKA to break the resistance of Ural.
A touchdown shot by Victor Moses after a chest treatment allowed Spartak to avoid defeat in the confrontation with Akhmat.
And Reziuan Mirzov saved Khimki with a neat hit in a meeting with the current champion Zenit.
"Wings of the Soviets" and "Krasnodar" scored twice each.
As part of the Samara team, Denis Yakuba and Maxim Glushenkov hit the gates of Orenburg from a long distance, and the latter succeeded in a stunning blow to the far nine.
And among the southerners, "Torch" was upset by Spertsyan and Alexei Ionov.
To judge that what happened is not an accident, but a trend, the magnificent shot of the Zenit forward Ivan Sergeev in the duel for the Super Cup without a chance for Spartak Alexander Selikhov allows.
However, according to the well-known coach Andrei Kobelev, it is too early to draw conclusions.
“Only one round has passed ... Let's wait until at least three or four passes, and then we will judge.
We probably saw some kind of local surge.
Just an abnormally many shots hit the target, ”the specialist explained.
But the mentor of the Ivanovo "Tekstilshchik" Igor Kolyvanov believes that RPL players are progressing in this direction every year, and more and more players appear in the country who can accurately and strongly break through from afar.
"This makes me happy.
Fans can't help but like it when people decide to take such shots and upset opponents.
The more they score, the higher the attendance will be.
Not a single match looks without goals, even if one of the sides controls the ball 70% of the time.
Football - first of all, goals, ”the coach explained.
However, statistics allow us to call seven effective strikes from a long distance rather an anomaly.
In the matches of the first round, there were too many "shots" in general.
So, CSKA and Lokomotiv hit the Ural and Pari NN goals 30 times, respectively.
For railroad workers, this result is the best since 2011.
For comparison, in the last season of the national championship, they on average delivered almost three times fewer shots (11.8).
The figure of the army team was more than twice as high (13.9).
Some other teams also have anomalous data: Wings of the Soviets (27 and 13.2 in the last tournament), Krasnodar (21 and 14.7), Akhmat (17 and 13.5).
The deviation from the norm is also clearly manifested in the example of attempts to hit the gate from outside the penalty area.
Thus, Krasnodar players recorded 12 attempts as their asset, while at the end of the previous season, Dynamo took the first place in this indicator (7.5 on average per game).
Moreover, following the results of one game, two more teams overcame the specified bar - Krylya Sovetov (11) and CSKA (9).
And most of the authors of goals from a long distance cannot be called specialists in this component.
Glushenkov shot three times from outside the penalty area in the match against Orenburg, although he had never crossed the mark of 0.5 on average per game in any of the seasons.
Ionov scored two shots and scored, but before that, at best, he showed approximately the same indicators - 0.6.
The same applies to Moses, who last season RPL “knocked out” 0.5.
But Oblyakov, on the contrary, has always been considered a master of long-range “shots” and three times in the Premier League he overcame the mark of one shot from a distance on average per championship draw.
Despite the unusual nature of what happened, experts interviewed by RT believe that there is a completely understandable reason for this.
Many RPL teams defend with a low block, and therefore the opponents have to adapt.
“Coaches have recently been betting on a scheme with three central defenders.
Therefore, it is not so easy to bring the ball to the penalty area.
Very rarely they began to score after flank passes, since all zones are saturated.
Increased density forces players to come up with non-standard moves.
Let's hope that the players will now hit even more often from a distance, ”Kolyvanov said.
In turn, Kobelev stressed that with such a closed football, problems often arise when selecting in the support zone.
This gives players the opportunity to carefully aim.
“With a busy defensive line, long shots are one option to score.
In recent years, we have seen how the teams began to act more harmoniously in defense.
The players are concentrating in their own penalty area.
That's why you have to hit from a distance.
But it has always been like this, and there is nothing new here.
It turns out that the teams sit low to their goal, and as the reverse side of the medal they get difficulties with the selection, ”added the specialist.
At the same time, both are sure: it is impossible to train this component, and those football players who have never had a delivered kick will not learn it.
“However, now we are beginning to understand that there are many such craftsmen in the RPL.
It is gratifying that young guys are growing up who are not afraid to take responsibility.
Yes, and in the leading European championships go the same way.
There are enough masters who can break through from afar, ”Kolyvanov rejoiced.