Five spectacular defeats and one fighting draw: what was remembered for the 28th round of the RPL, in addition to the fiery derby "Spartak" - CSKA

Sergeev's Life-Saving Exit

"Zenith" in the reporting round once again showed a champion character, in the third match in a row scoring in the compensated time for the second half. First, he snatched victory over Spartak and became the champion, and then twice escaped defeats. Following Krasnodar, the points from St. Petersburg were taken away by the strong Orenburg, which had previously lost exclusively to them.

A serious rotation of the squad by the opponent fell into the hands of the hosts. Brazilians Malcolm, Wendel, Renan and Rodrigo were not included in the application, while Mikhail Kerzhakov and Daler Kuzyaev remained on the bench. As a result, even 18-year-old debutant Alexei Baranovsky got a little time.

To the credit of Marcel Lichka's wards, having conceded from Gustavo Mantuan in the middle of the first half, they did not let go of their hands, but, on the contrary, increased the pressure on the possession of Alexander Vasyutin. And it bore fruit. Shortly before the break, Alexander Ektov closed Kirill Pechenin's cross from the front, and after an hour of the meeting, Renato Gojkovic scored an accurate shot after a corner.

But it was not possible to keep the winning score, as the guests were once again rescued by Ivan Sergeev. The substitute striker left no chance for the goalkeeper after an excellent throw into the penalty area performed by the same Mantuan. This allowed him to return to a clean first line in the list of the most productive reserves of the current RPL season - the Russian scored seven out of ten goals after Sergei Semak lifted him from the bench.

Another Karpin fiasco

In addition to the Moscow derby in the 28th round, another one took place - the southern one. The fans expected a stubborn struggle from the teams, remembering the match of the first round, in which Rostov snatched victory with a score of 3: 2, although by the break it was inferior - 0: 2. To help the team of Valery Karpin was the fact that "Krasnodar" a few days earlier held a difficult cup meeting with "Ural".

However, in reality, the struggle did not work out. The yellow-blues again looked faded and lacking initiative, for which they were defeated after unexpected misfires in games with Fakel and Sochi. Moreover, the intrigue actually died in the first ten minutes, when the hosts twice opened the defense of a principled opponent. First, Alexei Ionov scored after John Cordoba's save, and then the Colombian himself perfectly rolled the ball into the far corner from a rather sharp angle.

Even the injury of the top scorer of the "bulls", who had to be changed after half an hour, did not help Rostov. Moreover, Alexander Koksharov, who came on in his place, closed Sergei Volkov's serve just a few minutes later and became the youngest goalscorer in club history at an elite level. The striker upset Sergei Pesyakov at the age of 18 years and 152 days and pleased his father, the legendary handball player Eduard Koksharov, world champion and Olympic champion in the Russian national team.

After that, it was safe to give the final whistle, since the opponents had no chance of salvation. In the second half, they created a couple of chances, but failed to break through Stanislav Agkatsev, who replaced Matvey Safonov. Thus, the yellow-blue made life difficult for themselves in the fight for medals. Now they are three points behind Spartak and four points behind CSKA. At the same time, in the last two rounds, they are waiting for meetings with Akhmat breathing in the back and the same army men.

Timofeev's amazing performance

Alas, a confident game did not help Krasnodar to get closer to Akhmat in the table, as the latter won another victory. In the spring, they gained incredible momentum and one by one rewrite the club's achievements. For example, for the first time, they scored three or more goals in three RPL matches in a row and set a new record for the number of points in the tournament in a season - 49.

Following Torpedo and Dynamo, Khimki capitulated to Sergei Tashuev's wards. It seemed that they, while retaining the chances of salvation, were obliged to give the opponent a fight, but in fact the intrigue died rapidly. In the 28th minute, Vladislav Karapuzov opened the scoring, taking advantage of a gross mistake by former defender Vitaly Lystsov, and in the second half Artem Timofeev and Evgeny Kharin brought the matter to defeat. Substitute Hamid Agalarov also scored, but his goal was canceled due to offside.

More than others this evening, in addition to Kharin, who scored two points, Timofeev surprised. His game is an example of how football players open up when working with Tashuev. With the arrival of an experienced specialist, the pupil of Spartak not only copes well with the direct duties of the destroyer, but also regularly scores. The midfielder already has eight goals, which is more than in all previous seasons in the Premier League combined (seven).

Other performers are also pleased. So, Todorovic assists his partners in the third meeting in a row. Karapuzov does not leave the field without points in the fourth round in a row. And Georgi Shelia kept a clean sheet for the eighth time in the championship. The only fly in the ointment was the injury of the technical bright flank striker Nene Gbamble, who had to be replaced in the ninth minute.

Alpatov's successful debut

The current RPL season turned out to be rich in coaching resignations. The next one happened at Dynamo. It was after the defeat from Akhmat that the leadership of the blue and white did not postpone the matter indefinitely and terminated the contract with Slavisha Jokanovic. His place was temporarily taken by 32-year-old Pavel Alpatov. The appointment is especially surprising if you study the biography of a specialist. He went through the club's academy, where Anton Shunin, Alexander Kokorin and Fyodor Smolov studied at the same time, but unlike them, he failed to build a career as a player. The young man did not despair and, hanging up his boots on a nail, got a job in a clothing store.

However, in 2015, Alpatov returned to the club's academy as an administrator of youth teams. He does not hesitate to admit that in those years he carried bottles for children and even washed the locker rooms. But then Fortune began to favor him. First, he ended up in Dynamo-2, and then unexpectedly became an assistant to Sandro Schwartz. Since then, Pavel has remained at the headquarters of the main team.

In the first match, the acting pleased the fans. Under his leadership, the Muscovites defeated Torpedo, which had lost its chances of maintaining a residence permit in the elite - 3: 0. And the young coach was not afraid to make several important changes in the roster. For example, he left Shunin in the reserve and released from the first minutes all the forwards he had at hand: Fyodor Smolov, Yaroslav Gladyshev and Konstantin Tyukavin.

It totally worked. The latter opened the scoring in the second minute and scored the ninth goal in the current RPL draw. And shortly before the break, Gladyshev doubled the advantage of the guests, taking advantage of Arsen Zakharyan's cross from the left. Finally, the midfielder himself put an end to it in the second half, being the first to finish off. The advantage of the blue and white could have been greater if it were not for Zakharyan's hit the crossbar, and Mathias Normann hit the post.

Bale's fateful blow

With a similar score, the confrontation between Krylia Sovetov and Ural ended. It is difficult to overestimate the significance of this victory, which became only the second in the RPL for Samara in the spring, because they not only prevailed over a direct competitor, but also left the junction zone. Despite the score, the meeting was not easy for the Samara team. In the first half, the opponents created several dangerous chances, and Igor Osinkin had to change Ivan Lomaev to Evgeny Frolov due to injury. Looking ahead, the reservist, who entered the field as part of the elite division for the first time in three years, kept his goal intact, making several spectacular saves.

And as soon as Glenn Bale opened the scoring in the fourth minute added to the first half, the opponent, who had a difficult match with Krasnodar in the Russian Cup this week, stopped resisting. As a result, in the second half, the Wings brought the matter to the first defeat of the season. First, Dmytro Tsypchenko scored in the second round in a row, and then Benjamin Garre converted a penalty.

But Vladimir Pisarsky, who returned to action after disqualification, left the field without a goal in the tenth meeting of the national championship in a row. But the newcomer took part in two scoring combinations, although he did not score points for performance.

The reporting round simply could not close with the next, fifth defeat. Moreover, the most important three points in the confrontation with Sochi were also scored by Nizhny Novgorod at home, which won the second victory under the leadership of Sergei Yuran. In the first half, the opponents failed to score, but in the second, the hosts quickly removed all questions. Moreover, they recorded two handsome goals at once. First, Viktor Alexandrov sent the ball into the far nine from 20 meters, and then Dmitry Rybchinsky burst into the penalty area from the right flank and spun the projectile into the net. Finally, substitute Vyacheslav Krotov and Nikita Kakkoev scored in the end.