Illogical outcome: two mistakes by Leshchuk helped Spartak win a strong-willed victory over Dynamo in the match of the 23rd round of the RPL

The oldest Moscow derby between Dynamo and Spartak has always been distinguished by increased integrity. However, this time the significance of the points was especially high for both teams.

The blue and white couldn't allow another misfire at home in order to keep up with Zenit and Krasnodar in the fight for the championship, because their competitors won victories in the 23rd round. In addition, the bloody nose needed to take revenge for the defeat by Rostov last week and prove that this was just a fatal coincidence of circumstances.

The red and whites risked being left without a coach. In 2024, they only beat Orenburg in the Russian Cup. And a few days ago we lost to Zenit, failing in the second half. In the RPL, the results are even more unsightly: two draws, a defeat from Fakel and not a single goal scored. It cannot be ruled out that another fiasco would force management to make a personnel decision.

It was very interesting to see what lineups the coaches would choose for the derby. Marcel Lička drew conclusions from the confrontation with the southerners and left in reserve both full-backs who started at that time - Sergei Parshivlyuk and Elazar Daza. In their absence, Dmitry Skopintsev was positioned on the left, and the nominal central defender Nicholas Marichal was on the right. Moreover, the Czech explained this choice by the release of Jesus Medina and Anton Zinkovsky from Spartak. And on the edge of the attack, instead of Denis Makarov, Mumi Ngamalyo, who recently recovered from injury, played. At the same time, the place at the last line was again taken by Igor Leshchuk, and not by Anton Shunin, who repeatedly rescued his partners in the cup match with SKA-Khabarovsk.

Abascal, on the whole, did not have any surprises. Except that in the support zone, as in the meeting with the St. Petersburg team, Danil Prutsev was paired with Nail Umyarov. And Alexander Sobolev and Manfred Ugalde were supported from the flanks by Medina and Zinkovsky.

It is difficult to imagine how the meeting would have developed if not for the early goal of the blue and whites. Already in the debut they earned a penalty. Diego Laxalt, after throwing the ball in from the sideline, got ahead of Umyarov, threw the ball with his chest in his direction and forced his counterpart to touch it with his hand. At first, referee Kirill Levnikov did not record a violation, but after consulting with his assistants and watching the replay, he changed his decision. And Luis Chavez confidently converted the penalty kick.

Subsequently, the game took place according to a scenario that was comfortable for the hosts. Having carried out the opening segment with a bang, they gave the initiative to the opponent and retreated to their own half. At the same time, the role of Chavez and Laxalt was very important, who tightly cemented the support zone and did not allow the guests to create approaches through the center.

The red and white had no choice but to look for space on the flanks. Most often they shifted to the left. This was logical because Ngamalyo is always more keen on attacking, and Marichal is not famous for his reliability. Zinkovsky and Daniil Khlusevich actively interacted here. Almost all of Spartak's chances in the first half came from here. The most dangerous one was missed by Khlusevich, who played the ball into the far corner but missed the target.

But with penetration into the penalty area there were great difficulties. Sobolev often had to go to the flanks, from where he tried to disperse attacks, and Ugalde rose higher. In fact, there was no one to complete the team's combinations. And almost all the strikes came exclusively from long range. Leshchuk calmly dealt with them and made no mistakes.

Dynamo’s counterattacks looked much more interesting, in which they felt like a fish in water. Bitello, Ngamalyo, Jorge Carrascal and Konstantin Tyukavin were always ready to run ahead. And the hosts could well have increased their lead if they had been lucky. In one episode, the Cameroonian even managed to score, but the referee on the line declared a fair offside. A little later, Marichal pushed the ball from the right into the center of the penalty area to Tyukavin, who helped him, but shot straight into Maksimenko’s hands. Chavez’s shot from 20 meters was also not strong enough.

In the second half, nothing changed radically in the game. Spartak still could not carry out at least one meaningful attack and find space between the lines. It is not surprising that Abascal’s players began to get excited and break the rules. For example, the completely invisible Medina received a yellow card for a clash with Bitello.

It seemed that victory itself was in the hands of Dynamo. The blue and white just had to realize one of the many chances and put an end to the derby. After this, the demoralized opponent would hardly have been saved. But, as often happens with the team this season, it lacked luck. Just look at the episode when Marichal hit the post after a corner kick. And Bitello was not allowed to finish the ball into the net by his prostrate opponent.

But Tyukavin should bite his elbows the most, because he could remove all questions about the outcome of the match. Once he even ran away to rendezvous with Maksimenko and missed the target. A little later, the forward did not reach Bitello's cross from the left, and the projectile almost slipped into the far one. Moreover, Konstantin tried to throw the ball into the net from the central circle, but Maksimenko managed to return.

Abascal, out of despair, made a quadruple substitution after an hour. Leon Klassen, Mikhail Ignatov, Ruslan Litvinov and Theo Bongonda entered the field. One way or another, we managed to at least refresh the squad and, most importantly, the flanks. And, perhaps, the most important action of the coach was not in the castlings themselves, but in the fact that Sobolev finally moved to the forefront, and the fresh Ignatov positioned himself under him. In addition, Licka had to remove Chavez due to injury.

In the end, this played a decisive role. However, Leshchuk rather gave the victory to the guests. In the previous round match with Rostov, it was he who allowed Kirill Shchetinin to open the scoring by unsuccessfully putting the ball in from the goal.

This time Igor showed himself even worse. In a situation where nothing worked out for Spartak in the second half, he helped them restore their balance. After Ignatov’s long-range, weak shot, the goalkeeper released the ball from his hands directly at Sobolev. Alexander did not miss from a meter away.

The shocked Dynamo players continued to attack anyway, especially since the fresher Fedor Smolov replaced Tyukavin. It was even possible to create several approaches.

But in the 88th minute there was another “arrival” of Leshchuk. Zinkovsky, it seemed, was about to fall in a single combat with Parshivlyuk on the left edge, but stayed on his feet and completed the cross. Now Ignatov struck low in the center. The ball again went into the hands of the goalkeeper, but he inexplicably released it again. And Sobolev was nearby. 1:2.

The blue and whites had enough time to escape, but they were morally killed and gave up. The goalkeeper's mistakes cost them dearly, because now the gap from Zenit has increased to six points, and from Krasnodar to five. Moreover, CSKA is located in only two.

Abascal again demonstrated phenomenal luck. When there was a feeling that he might be fired, the red and white somehow miraculously snatched victory.