Check for Dynamo
The ideal start to the spring period not only helped Dynamo strengthen its position among the main contenders for medals, but even think about fighting for gold. After 20 rounds, the gap from the leading Zenit was two points, and the gap to the second Krasnodar was only one. And taking into account the problems of the “bulls”, who not only did not win a single victory in the spring, but also decided to change their coach, it was the blue and white that should be considered the main pursuers of the St. Petersburgers.
In light of this, the confrontation with Rostov looked like an ideal test of ambition. Like their future rivals, in the spring Valery Karpin's charges have not yet lost points in the championship, having stumbled only in the Russian Cup. There they were beaten by CSKA on aggregate and were forced to “descend” to the Path of Regions. By the way, like “Dynamo”, which lost to “Zenith” in return.
However, far from the brightest performance at the Gazprom Arena did not affect the status of Dynamo. It was Marcel Lička’s team that were considered favorites in the opening match of the 22nd round of the RPL (the 21st was postponed to April) - and this despite both Rostov’s victories over Krylia Sovetov and Krasnodar, and the return of Nikolai Komlichenko to action , recovered from damage. True, the factor forward did not manage to get into the starting line right away - Egor Golenkov took the lead.
In turn, Lichka was a little surprised by the choice of lineup. So, not only Nikolas Marichal, who played all 90 minutes against Akhmat, but also Daniil Fomin remained in reserve. And if the first logically gave up his place to Fabio Balbuena, who missed the previous meeting due to disqualification, then the second - to Diego Lascalto. Yes, he also didn’t play against the Grozny team due to too many yellow cards, but to see a Uruguayan and not a Russian in the starting lineup was quite unexpected.
Leshchuk's blunder and the capitulation of Muscovites
The match at the VTB Arena began with a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall, and the opening ceremony was attended by an employee of the concert hall, Sofia Meyer, and 14-year-old schoolboy Artyom Donskov, who showed courage that day, and personally led people out of the burning building. And also the famous commentator Viktor Gusev, who came to the Picnic concert and miraculously was not injured in the shooting. The last two struck the ball symbolically, involving the athletes who entered the field in black T-shirts with cranes into the game.
Of course, all this could not but affect the performers themselves, as a result of which the first 20 minutes of the confrontation were not the most eventful. But there was a lot of struggle and technical defects, including the curious fall of Jorge Carrascal, who slipped on the ball. The only thing that left a positive impression was Dynamo's high pressure. Although this was traditionally considered one of the main weapons of Valery Karpin’s charges.
But already in the 22nd minute, Rostov demonstrated how to use this technique. Balbuena, who came under pressure, was forced to pass back and made a mistake. Igor Leshchuk did not read the situation and, instead of defusing the situation, drove towards Eli Dasa, behind whose back Kirill Shchetinin was already hiding. The Rostov midfielder made an interception and punished the goalkeeper for a gross mistake. However, he refrained from wild celebrations of the goal and only clasped his palms together.
From that minute until the end of the half, there was only one team on the VTB Arena field. “Dynamo” fell apart and allowed “Rostov” to do whatever they wanted. And we went to the break with the score 0:3, although it could have been much higher. A couple of great chances were missed by Ronaldo, who left Sergei Parshivlyuk in the cold over and over again, and Golenkov. But Egor compensated for this with excellent actions in the game. First, he began an attack that ended with Glebov’s magnificent volley, and then assisted Mohammad Mohebi. True, in both episodes he could well have played along with his hand, but neither the chief referee nor the video assistant noticed the violation of the rules.
Bitello's prestige goal
During the break, Lichka made two substitutions at once - Parshivlyuk and Denis Makarov were replaced by Dmitry Skopintsev and Mumi Ngamalyo. And although Shchetinin almost scored a double in the 46th minute, Dynamo subsequently seized the initiative and scored a couple of good shots. It was all the more offensive for the hosts to concede for the fourth time. Mokhebi did something incredible and tricked a couple of opponents on the approaches to the penalty area, after which he placed the ball exactly in the corner of Leshchuk’s goal.
After this, Dynamo had virtually no hope of a comeback, so all that remained was to try to dampen the score and avoid shame. However, at first all attempts by the blue and white team to reduce the gap were thwarted by Sergei Pesyakov. The Rostov goalkeeper caught the courage and first dealt with Ngamalyo in close combat, and then miraculously reacted to Skopintsev’s shot - and this despite the rebound from Carrascal’s back.
However, Pesyakov still failed to keep a clean sheet. In the 79th minute, Bitello, who opened up under a cross pass, literally pushed the ball into the net, and Sergei not only failed to save his team, but was also injured. Rostov defender Umar Sako literally walked over his own goalkeeper’s head, causing him to have a cut. Fortunately, a replacement was not required, but Dynamo was unable to build on the success. The goal of substitute Vyacheslav Grulev was canceled due to offside. Moreover, Shchetinin almost left Leshchuk out of action for the fifth time, but his long-range “shot” hit the crossbar.
Dynamo suffered a major defeat from Rostov and lost the opportunity to reach the intermediate first place in the RPL. The Muscovites remained in third place, while Karpin's team rose to seventh - one point ahead of Spartak.