Karpin was sent to the Path of Regions, Ivich was sent to rest: CSKA defeated Rostov in the Russian Cup, Khimki knocked out Krasnodar

The Krasnodar fiasco

The match with Khimki was of particular importance for Krasnodar for two reasons.

Not the most successful performance at the group stage of the Russian Cup led to the fact that the current finalist of the tournament reached the playoffs only from third place and went to the Path of the Regions.

And thus he lost the right to make a mistake, significantly reducing his chances of repeating last year’s result.

Moreover, in the event of a defeat, Vladimir Ivich could well lose his job.

As reported yesterday in the Russian media, the management of the “bulls” was dissatisfied with the team’s performance after the resumption of the season and was ready to fire the Serb in the event of another failure.

Perhaps because of this, Ivic decided to make large-scale changes and updated the roster by 70% compared to the confrontation with Rostov in the RPL.

In the second meeting in a row, only Sergei Volkov, Joao Batchi and John Cordoba came out, but Eduard Spertsyan, who did not play in the championship due to too many yellow cards, returned to the starting lineup.

No less significant was the long-awaited appearance of Kevin Castano in the start.

In January, he was purchased from Cruz Azul for €7.3 million, but from that moment he never entered the field, which gave rise to a wave of rumors.

And the Colombian started the match quite well - he actively participated in the rally and almost brought Cordoba one on one with the enemy goalkeeper.

But in the 23rd minute I lost the impression of my debut.

Castaño extremely carelessly put out his hand and interrupted Roman Yuzepchuk's feed into the penalty area.

Chief referee Kirill Levnikov immediately pointed to the spot, and Khetag Khosonov superbly executed the penalty kick.

Stanislav Agkatsev reacted, but failed to reach the ball sent exactly into the corner.

So Krasnodar found itself in an extremely difficult situation.

Yes, the guests had created chances before, but after conceding a goal they doubled the pressure and began to literally bombard the hosts’ goal.

But suddenly Igor Obukhov caught the courage, making five saves in the first half alone.

In the second half of the half, the 27-year-old goalkeeper parried Spertsyan's powerful long-range shot, prevented Kayo from scoring after a corner kick, and then dealt with Kadi Borges in a head-to-head duel.

He was powerless only in the episode with the blow in the fall of Cordoba, but then the ball passed centimeters from the bar.

Already during the break, Ivic took desperate measures and replaced Batchi with another newcomer, Victor Sa, but this did not have a positive effect.

On the contrary, Krasnodar loosened its grip and conceded again in the 57th minute.

“Khimki” carried out a cool multi-play, which ended with a precise shot from outside the penalty area after a cross from the flank.

It’s all the more surprising that his defender Oleg Isaenko, a graduate of the Black-Green Academy, struck.

Thus, the “ex-rule” came into play once again.

Ivich continued to reshape the lineup and threw Nikita Krivtsov and Alexander Chernikov into the fight.

But this did not help Krasnodar even regain the initiative, let alone reduce the gap.

Moreover, Khimki themselves began to increasingly visit a third of the opponent’s field, at times holding the ball for a long time and making Agkatsev nervous.

Lucas Olasa and Olakunle Olusegun made no difference either.

The Nigerian could have organized a sharp counterattack, but for some reason he decided not to demonstrate his speed, which is why the attack floundered - Obukhov easily dealt with the long-range “shot”.

As a result, Krasnodar was unable to surprise the Khimki goalkeeper, who made eight saves.

Moreover, already in stoppage time the score could have become large, but Ilya Berkovsky hit the crossbar with all his might.

Ivic's team suffered a second defeat in a row in all tournaments (0:2) and ended their performance in the Russian Cup.

And after a break for national team matches, they risk returning with a new head coach.

Confident victory for CSKA

Unlike Krasnodar, CSKA and Rostov approached the return match of the 1/4 finals of the RPL Path of the Russian Cup in a more upbeat mood.

In the last round, the army team broke the resistance of “Wings of the Soviets” and climbed to fourth place in the championship table, and Valery Karpin’s team won two victories in a row after the resumption of the season.

Therefore, they could well be considered favorites for the upcoming meeting, which the main left central defender Moises missed due to disqualification.

Fortunately, there was no need to win back the handicap - at the end of November the teams split amicably (1:1).

Perhaps that is why the teams were in no hurry to open up in the first minutes.

There were practically no combination attacks, and the transition from defense was carried out mainly through long-range throws.

Apparently, this is how the rivals tried to prevent each other from using high pressure - the calling card of both Rostov and CSKA (albeit to a lesser extent).

However, this did not help create chances.

In the first 30 minutes, Vladislav Torop and Nikita Medvedev, who replaced the main goalkeepers, more often participated in the rally than were seen performing their direct duties.

However, in the end, the army team still increased their activity and twice almost upset backup Sergei Pesyakov.

And even though it was Ivan Oblyakov who hit the target, finishing the cross from the left flank, Milan Gayich was closer to the goal.

Ilya Vakhania rushed to cover Fedor Chalov and allowed the Serb to freely shoot from outside the penalty area after a cross.

But the ball went over the crossbar.

During the break, Vladimir Fedotov made an interesting change, releasing striker Tamerlan Musaev instead of defensive midfielder Sasha Zdelar.

But despite this, the beginning of the second half was literally a continuation of the first.

CSKA continued to dominate and almost opened the scoring in the 47th minute - Viktor Davila headed in after a cross from the flank, but did not create any serious problems for Medvedev.

However, CSKA did not slow down even after losing Igor Diveev to injury, who had only recently recovered from another injury.

Another massive attack ended with a gorgeous three-move - Davila passed almost from the front line to Chalov, and he passed it to Ilya Agapov, who suddenly found himself in the place of the forward.

Moises' substitute opened up on the offside line and completed the pass, scoring his debut goal for the red-blues.

Rostov had about half an hour left to restore parity.

But the guests' unsuccessful attempts to create something ahead time and time again forced Valery Karpin to clutch his head.

The hosts looked noticeably better.

So, Musaev almost hit the far corner during a counterattack, and Anton Zabolotny, who came on instead of Chalov, added movement in front and organized a couple of raids with his header.

Ten minutes before the end of regular time, Rostov perked up and almost earned a penalty, but Sergei Karasev did not see Willian Rocha's deliberate handball.

And just a minute later, CSKA doubled the lead.

Davila made a magnificent pass into the penalty area to Gayich, and Musaev put the point in the combination.

And removed all questions about the winner.

The army team gained the upper hand on their home field and continued their quest for the trophy, while Karpin’s team will try to reach the final through the Path of the Regions.