Different reasons for the same crisis: why Spartak and Dynamo are experiencing problems in the spring part of the season

Another reason to speculate about the problems of the giants of Russian football appeared after the Moscow derby in the framework of the 22nd round of the RPL, which ended with an atypical score for him 3: 3. And if fans of both teams have long been accustomed to draws, then the abundance of goals could be surprised. The last time the opponents scored a couple of six goals was a little more than ten years ago, when Dynamo unexpectedly defeated Spartak on the road - 5: 1. But if then the red and white was opposed by dan Petrescu's squad full of stars, this time it was Slavisha Jokanovic's team experiencing both playing and personnel difficulties.

The presence of problem areas in the blue and white was mentioned at the end of the last championship, when the team in connection with the difficult situation in the world left the head coach Sandro Schwarz, and several important performers at once - Sebastian Szymanski, Nicola Moro, Fabian Balbuena and Nikolai Ordets. In addition, the club abandoned Nikolai Komlichenko and Roman Evgenyev: the forward was sold to Rostov, and the defender decided not to extend the contract. All this created a deficit in both the middle and defensive lines, although there were claims to the second and earlier. And let the gaps be patched up, but dynamo scouts did not find high-quality performers.

This shortcoming was regularly manifested during the previous matches of Dynamo in the season, and once again came to the fore in the confrontation with Spartak. It was the low level of defenders that largely caused two of the three goals conceded. In the case of the first ball, the whole four worked unsuccessfully, failing to competently rebuild and disassemble the opponents, and in the second, the lack of skill of a particular athlete affected. 22-year-old Nicolas Marichal once again demonstrated his non-compliance with the quality standards of the top teams of the RPL and actually organized a counter-attack, which ended with an accurate strike by Keita Balde. No wonder he was sent to the bench at half-time.

But the problem is not that the Uruguayan cannot yet benefit the team fighting for the medals of the Russian championship. And in the absence of high-end central defenders in principle. With all due respect, neither Roberto Fernandez, who missed the match due to brute-card brute-dots, nor Saba Sazonov are top players ready to cement the defense of a strong team. Both regularly make scoring mistakes and often look very uncertain. And this is despite the fact that under Jokanovic, Dynamo acts extremely cautiously and unusually puts little pressure, if we compare with the times of Being on the coaching bridge of Schwartz.

The same applies to the midfield, where Szymański and Moro have not yet found a worthy replacement, as a result of which Zakharyan was forced to be transferred there. In many ways, this is due to his not the brightest game this season - it's just that a year ago he was much more focused on creation and was not obliged to think so much about destruction. As for the rest, Luka Gagnidze, Moomin Ngamale and Daniil Lesovoy have not yet justified the advances given to them, Vyacheslav Grulev and Denis Makarov cannot make significant progress, and Fedor Smolov misses a lot due to injuries. Konstantin Tyukavin and Yaroslav Gladyshev look like bright spots, but a couple of players are unlikely to be enough to fight for medals.

Thus, Jokanovich could be called a hostage of the situation. After all, he really inherited not the same team that was distinguished by high pressing and demonstrated modern, bright football. But with the reforms, the specialist only complicated his life. After all, there is nothing worse when a team sharpened to achieve a result ceases to regularly score points, and even fades. And it would be fine in comparison with Schwartz's Dynamo, but with himself in the first half of the tournament. If then the white and blue were sixth in terms of created expected goals and fourth in terms of allowed goals, now everything is noticeably worse (12th and fifth, respectively).

If in the autumn Dynamo were largely helped out by the excellent implementation of chances (+ 5.92 from xG), then in the spring they score less than they should (if we leave aside the anomalous match with Spartak). It is difficult to say how the team can make progress both in the organization of attacks and in their completion. Jokanovich shows reluctance to depart from his principles and continues to instill in the wards a more conservative and closed style, and the absence of superstars does not allow him to count on the classy use of his chances. Therefore, in the current situation, calls for the resignation of a specialist are increasingly heard and it is impossible to call them groundless. The Muscovites have already been eliminated from the Russian Cup and lost the opportunity to win the trophy in the jubilee, 100th year since the founding of the club, and in the RPL they fell back to sixth place, skipping ahead of Akhmat.

As for Spartak, the situation is quite different. Unlike their competitors, the ten-time national champions managed to keep the backbone of the players and even found a good reinforcement in the face of Keita Balde, Tomas Tavares, Alexis Duarte and Maciej Rybus. And also got a very high-quality and promising mentor. Although initially many were skeptical about the appointment of Guillermo Abascal, later the Spaniard managed to dispel all doubts. With him, the team began to show an even more colorful game and at the same time achieve results. Until the start of the spring part of the tournament, the red and whites had the status of the main pursuers of Zenit and successfully performed in the Cup.

But in the spring, something suddenly broke. Spartak continued to demonstrate modern, attractive football with high pressing, but there were difficulties with both implementation and defense. In terms of xG, the Muscovites occupy the first place in the league with a huge margin (9.76), but they scored only eight times. As for xGA, things are noticeably worse. Only Khimki and Pari NN, which are at the bottom of the table, allow more opponents.

Of course, the harmony of the defense was affected by the absence of Georgy Djikia, who was injured during the confrontation of the 20th round with Orenburg. After it, the winless streak lasted until two meetings, and subsequently reached five. But even before that, things weren't so smooth. In the RPL matches with Ural (2:2) and Fakel (3:2), a total of four goals were conceded, two of them from the penalty spot. And even the partners of the Russian on the defensive line did not look the best. This was especially true of Pavel Maslov, who has not yet learned to play in a scheme with two central defenders.

In general, almost every subsequent meeting with the participation of Spartak was remembered for someone's individual failure. Anton Zinkovsky and Daniil Denisov, who actually organized both goals of the opponents, scored gross mistakes with the same Orenburg, in the cup games with Ural, the midfielders did not play the best way, from whose zone two of the three goals were scored, and in the duel with Dynamo something unimaginable happened to Alexander Selikhov, who made two incredible blunders.

Logically, all this may indicate problems with psychology, but why would they arise? Most of the current players of the team not only competed for RPL medals in recent years, but also took the Cup of the country last season. And they know firsthand what it means to be under pressure. But for one reason or another, not only athletes, but also the coach break under it. Suffice it to recall Abaskal's breakdown after a goalless draw with Akhmat, when he spoke harshly about the referees. Perhaps this nervousness is transmitted to his wards, most of whom are still very young. According to the average age, Spartak shares the fifth place in the championship with CSKA (25 years on average), and denisov, Daniil Khlusevich, Ruslan Litvinov and Danil Pruttsev (all are not older than 23) are among the leaders in terms of playing time.

Difficulties with implementation can be explained by the absence or poor form of leaders. So, in the Russian Cup, alexander Sobolev and Shamar Nicholson, who were disqualified for a brawl in the match with Zenit, still cannot help their partners, and the last three meetings in all competitions were missed by the top scorer and assistant of the team Quincy Promes (21 + 9). Technically, he took the field in the game against Akhmat, but spent only nine minutes, after which he was replaced due to a muscle injury.

At the same time, the Dutchman did not always look perfect before, the reason for which, for sure, were problems with preparation. For unknown reasons, he missed the training camp of the team and trained according to an individual program, which could not but affect his condition.

But even with all these difficulties, Spartak as a whole is in a much better position than its recent rival in the capital derby. Unlike Dynamo, the red and whites still have chances for silver medals in the RPL and are fighting for the Russian Cup. And with a high degree of probability, the team will reach the Super Final. Akron's luck can end at any time, and Krasnodar and Krylia Sovetov cannot be called impassable opponents.

Therefore, the club is much calmer about the current failures and is not going to make sudden movements. And this is rather true, given the progress that many players have made under the leadership of Abascal. It was under him that many young stars of red and white really lit up, and the same Sobolev and Promes have excellent seasons. And all this clearly does not negate a few unsuccessful performances.