Lokomotiv's main loss before the match was goalkeeping.
“A native of the Kyrgyz city of Frunze (now Bishkek), Anton Kochenkov joined the Lokomotiv team back in 2004. To realize how long ago it was, two facts are enough: that year the “railroad workers” won the championship for the second – and so far the last – time, and Kochenkov’s current coach Zaur Khapov has not yet gone out onto the field to play. The younger generation of fans remembers both vaguely. Since then, a lot of events have happened in Kochenkov’s career - leases, full-fledged departures and returns. There was only one thing missing: a chance to prove himself in a serious matter. After 13 (thirteen!) years, he finally got it. Guilherme's injury and the unsuccessful game against Sheriff of his replacement Medvedev opened the doors of the base to the club's most experienced, but nominally only third, goalkeeper. Kochenkov was not lucky enough to mark this case with a “cracker…”
Crazy audacity of CSKA
Columnist of "Soviet Sport" Sergey Podgornov evaluates the pressure and pressure with which the army team started the meeting.
“One could once again be convinced of Goncharenko’s courage by looking at how CSKA rushed forward from the first minutes. It was clear that the army team was in high spirits after a successful game in the Champions League, but why did they suddenly forget about the problems with the squad and the match with Lokomotiv in the first round? The railway workers then shredded CSKA's game formations with exemplary counterattacks. Goncharenko pretended that this did not happen, saying a decisive “no” to pragmatism and sending his gang on board. Insolence bordering on madness, no less.
“Lokomotiv” defended in its own style – hysterically and emotionally, every time it seemed that Semin’s team would concede a little more. But this is a false feeling that haunts Loko fans in every match. The individual qualities of the railway defense players are enough to resolve most moments in the penalty area in their favor.
Semin’s decision looked interesting - to assign Mikhalik to Dzagoev for personal guardianship. In modern football, this phenomenon is not the most common, but here the coach of the railway workers puts one on one against the leader of the opponents, a player who appears on the field extremely rarely this season. However, during CSKA’s positional attacks, Mikhalik allowed the opponent to create virtually nothing, which means the move worked.”
F**k off!
Match TV correspondent Pavel Tikhonov highlights the main anti-hero of the last match - CSKA midfielder Pontus Wernbloom.
“- Fuck off! - Pontus Wernbloom shouted towards the linesman shortly after the first goal conceded.
The linesman put his hand to his ear, indicating with a gesture that he had not heard anything. Wernbloom stopped and took a step back.
Fuck off! Fuck off! Fuck off! - Wernbloom said three times, moving his back from the edge to his place on the field - the place of the central striker.
The linesman pretended that he didn’t understand anything, said nothing into the microphone, and 45 minutes later he heard these words again!
Everything escalated already in the 49th minute. Khetag Khosonov carelessly flew straight into Taras Mikhalik after a technical error. When it became clear to everyone that this was the second yellow, Wernbloom held the referee's hands, not allowing him to take the red card out of his pocket. I hoped that this would save the team from being removed.
And in the 57th minute, the Swede overtook Miranchuk and, to record this, brushed off his opponent with his elbow. Thus began the key moment of the match.”
Heat in Cherkizovo
Reporter for "Soviet Sport" Konstantin Krinsky describes the most striking fragment of the meeting at the Russian Railways Arena, despite the four goals.
“Immediately after the start of the second half of the meeting, the only question arose: how many minutes will Lokomotiv have? After all, the railway workers after the European Cups rested two days less than the army men, and this, excuse me, is an extra 48 hours for recovery. But either villain fate decided to equalize the teams’ chances, or another flash erupted on the Sun, or something else, but Khosonov almost tore off Mikhalik’s leg and, having rightly received a second yellow card, left the field. So you get it - 11 tired ones against 10 freshest ones.
And this was just the beginning of the nuclear 15 minutes. Suddenly Wernbloom remembered that he could move his elbows no worse than famous rap artists and injure those around him. The moment turned out to be so tough that Goncharenko attacked Semin. You won’t believe it, but the usually calm Belarusian rushed to the opponents’ coach to sort things out. And if it weren’t for Loskov, reserve referee Igor Fedotov and the Lokomotiv staff, the coaches would definitely have been locked in more than just tongues. How hot it is in Cherkizovo! Pontus, by the way, at that time assured Karasev of his angelic origin and slander from the outside. In general, such fouls should be given red cards, not yellow ones. What if the Swede had knocked Miranchuk out of the blue?”
Thermonuclear Wernbloom
Author of "Sport-Express" Alexander Muiznek believes that the Swedish midfielder is the force that drives the CSKA machine.
“CSKA is losing the second match in a row due to the removal of a young player - Viktor Goncharenko chose to focus on this. It was also lucky that CSKA did not lose, like in Tula. Viktor Vasin was also lucky, who committed a last-ditch foul on Farfan, but did not receive a red card for it. And the main one who was lucky is Wernbloom. The Swede ended the match by slowing down a little, but did not avoid clashes.
Pontus is the most combative player of the match: he has four clean single combats (all successful) and not a single dribble allowed by the opponent. The Swede is not even the championship leader in fouls or even yellow cards, but this does not prevent him from being his most thermonuclear person. Perhaps this is the main thing on which his team rests.
If CSKA Lokomotiv was able to stop, then it seems no one can stop Wernbloom.”
Justice has triumphed
Special correspondent for “Sports Day by Day” Egor Prokudin believes that Lokomotiv, having managed to equalize the score, restored justice in this meeting.
“Fortunately, this derby did not repeat the sad fate of the recent Russian clasico between CSKA and Zenit, in which there was little football and a lot of skirmishes and squabbles. The red-greens found the strength to press the opponent to the goal with combination play, which was greatly facilitated by the replacement of the “extra” defender Mikhalik with Alexander Kolomeytsev.
The Miranchuk brothers and Manu Fernandes soon organized a one-to-one for Farfan, whom Vasin stopped only at the cost of a foul already inside the penalty area. However, Akinfeev managed to save the penalty and kept the army fans' hope for a miracle called victory over the leader.
And yet justice triumphed. Well, there’s no way Yuri Semin’s team deserved to lose in this derby! In the end, the attack that began on the right flank with a dash from Kolomeytsev, continued with a pair of cross passes and completed by Manu Fernandes, became effective. So the Loko playmaker is going to the Portuguese national team in a good mood.”
On Sunday, in the central match of the 11th round, the railway workers will host the army team in Cherkizovo. Both clubs have faced serious difficulties recently. Sunday's game gives each of the opponents a chance to overcome them.
Dmitry ZELENOV
TO Which one is heavier - either , or ? You can’t answer this question right away. Both teams find themselves in a difficult situation, both coaches are under serious pressure.
Loko has not won in five matches and cannot score from the field. Semin was actually left without strikers, and the midfielders were pushing against someone else’s defense like they were hitting a wall. The once creative team seems to have simply forgotten how to attack.
CSKA has slightly adjusted its affairs in the standings, but the personnel situation is terrible. No and, access to the field is in question. After the victory, the general mood began to improve a little, but the most offensive draw negated all the positivity. The continued series consumed the minds, a noise arose that drowned out everything around.
Alexey MIRANCHUK vs Alexander GOLOVIN. Photo "SE"
On Sunday, two clots of negative energy will collide with each other.
This will be a clash of angry, irritated, somewhat desperate rivals. A battle in which everyone must win, because there is simply no other way. Losing points will aggravate the situation even more, the nervous situation can become truly explosive - the slightest spark will be enough to explode.
Only victory - and nothing else - will give a respite, allow you to take a breath of fresh air, and become a real salvation.
And how much will depend on the coaches here! When the apathy of some is overtaken, when the leaders of others are injured, Semin and Slutsky must take on a special role. Each of them is capable of getting out of this crisis, each of them deserves the best. But only one will win. A draw for both will be equal to defeat.
Yuri SEMIN vs Leonid SLUTSKY. Photo "SE"
SEMIN VS SLUTSKY: +2=2-3
The meeting in Cherkizovo will be the eighth confrontation between Semin and Slutsky. The current army man has won more often due to victories at the head of CSKA in recent years.
|
Season |
Stadium |
Club Semina |
Slutsky Club |
Check |
Goals |
|
2006 |
them. Streltsova, Moscow |
Bulykin, 85 - Bracamonte, 36 |
|||
|
2009 |
Metallurg, Samara |
Shishkin, 43, own goal. Sychev, 69. Gatagov, 86 - Adamov, 90+5, penalty |
|||
|
2010 |
Arena Khimki |
Kuzmin, 89 - Guilherme, 7 |
|||
|
Lokomotiv, Moscow |
Maicon, 25 |
||||
|
2014/15 |
Arena Khimki |
"in the rank of leader of the Russian Football Championship in the central match will meet with, the meeting will take place on Sunday at the stadium in Cherkizovo and will begin at 16:30 Moscow time.
Lokomotiv does not lose points in top matches
In the last round, the railway workers defeated St. Petersburg's Zenit on the road and became the sole leaders of the championship. However, there is no doubt that Lokomotiv will approach the upcoming match with CSKA with a cool head, since already this week the Moldavian Sheriff sensationally beat the red-greens in the fourth round of the group stage of the Europa League in Moscow.
At the same time, in the match with Sheriff, goalkeeper Guilherme (damage to the rectus femoris tendon) and forward Eder (damage to one of the muscles of the hamstring) were injured, and their participation in the meeting with CSKA, according to Lokomotiv head coach Yuri Semin, unlikely.
“Yes, the calendar is quite complicated for us. Why? It’s hard for me to talk about this; great attention needs to be paid to drawing up the calendar. But I don’t see anything wrong with it now, everything is in our hands,” Semin said after the match with Sheriff, answering the question that his team has less time to recover than CSKA before the match in the Russian championship after the European Cups.
The statistics of the current season speak in favor of Lokomotiv before the match with CSKA - the railway workers show a 100% result in games with the leaders. The “red-greens” scored 100% of points in matches with teams from the top six in the first round, beating “Zenit” (3:0), CSKA (3:1), “Krasnodar” (2:0), “Ural” (2:1) and “Spartak” (4:3). At the same time, Lokomotiv handed out points to teams that on paper were outsiders - Amkar (0:1), Ufa (0:1) and Tosno (0:2).
The railway workers, who are currently seven points ahead of CSKA, if they win, could break away from the army team by ten points and, possibly, eliminate one competitor in the fight for the championship. At the same time, “Lokomotiv”, even in case of failure, will continue to lead the standings even after 16 rounds.
CSKA on the rise after Basel
For the army team, the upcoming match with Lokomotiv will, perhaps, be even more important in terms of championship ambitions than for the opponent. CSKA's performance in the Russian Championship recently is not much to be envied - in the previous five rounds, the army team scored six points, scoring only one goal. Although the away victory over the Swiss “Basel” () in the Champions League will definitely add positive emotions, which preserves the “red-blue” good chances to continue the fight or, at least, to qualify for the Europa League.
Separately, it is worth noting the contribution to the victory over Basel by Alan Dzagoev, who claimed the title of player of the week in the Champions League. The midfielder, who entered the field for the first time since suffering an Achilles tendon injury on September 27 in the second half, radically changed the situation on the field. Also taking part in the Champions League match was defender Mario Fernandez, who missed the 15th round match with Arsenal Tula (0:1).
It is also worth noting that both CSKA head coach Viktor Gancharenko and Semin trust the young players. The leading roles for the army team are Konstantin Kuchaev, Timur Zhamaletdinov, Fyodor Chalov, Astemir Gordyushenko, and this is not to mention the mature leader Alexander Golovin. Lokomotiv, in addition to the brothers Alexei and Anton Miranchuk, has Mikhail Lysov and Dmitry Barinov.
Former goalkeeper of both teams Valery Novikov is confident that the game will be difficult for both teams. “I think that you shouldn’t expect an abundance of goals. The game will be difficult for both CSKA and Lokomotiv. Don’t forget that Loko beat Zenit with a good game and a good set of performers, but the army team in the match with “Basel showed very worthy football, winning an absolutely deserved victory,” he told R-Sport.
Both Lokomotiv and CSKA showed an amazing game before the opening of the second round. The railway workers sensationally topped the standings, defeating Zenit on its field, but then Yuri Semin’s team did not have enough strength to beat the Moldavian Sheriff. The army team first lost to Arsenal Tula, and then gained three points in the match with Basel in the Champions League.
Injuries on both teams have complicated the situation. Guilherme and Eder ended up in the Lokomotiv infirmary. Nikita Medvedev did not convince Semin of his professional suitability, and Anton Kochenkov ended up in goal at the Moscow derby. On the day of the match, CSKA learned that Alexander Golovin was injured, risking missing the national team matches at the same time, and earlier it was already known that Konstantin Kuchaev, Igor Akinfeev’s lucky talisman, with whom he would not miss the RFPL, would miss the derby due to disqualification.
But CSKA could rely on Alan Dzagoev - he celebrated his return to duty with a great game against Basel, which brought an important victory to the army team, and at the same time charged him with positive emotions before the meeting with the leader of the Russian championship. Russian fans have already been waiting for his ability to turn the tide of the most important matches, to which the play of the first and third teams of the tournament certainly belonged.
Decline of army defense
And yet, Lokomotiv was considered the favorite of the match, knowing the secret of victories over their main rivals for the title. Viktor Goncharenko needed to find non-trivial ways to restrain the railway workers, and he encroached on the sacred: the combination of Sergei Ignashevich and Vasily Berezutsky remained sitting on the bench.
The coach relied on faster defenders who could hold back the opponent's counterattacks. Ignashevich was left without a record 30th match against his former team, and the fan banner in honor of the Berezutskys was addressed only to Alexey - the fans congratulated the brothers, who between them played a thousand matches for CSKA.
But Goncharenko miscalculated. CSKA's defense lacked the experience of veterans - especially Khetag Khosonov, who was included in the starting lineup only in the Russian Cup games. In the 14th minute, Manuel Fernandes threw the ball towards the army penalty area, Anton Miranchuk and Jefferson Farfan played a one-two, and the Russian player scored his first goal in the Premier League. Lokomotiv took advantage of the first chance that arose at the opponent's goal.
Cherchesov's right choice
Of the main characters in the match, only Igor Denisov remained without a call-up to the Russian national team for the games with Argentina and Spain. After his selfless game against Zenit, fans called on Stanislav Cherchesov to forget past grievances and give the Lokomotiv defensive midfielder a chance. However, the national team coach remained adamant, and, as it turned out, for good reason. Denisov was to blame for the missed goals from Sheriff, and in the game against CSKA he let the team down again.
A quarter of an hour after the first goal, Vitinho beautifully fought for the ball in the center of the field, passed to the flank, and from there Georgy Shchennikov returned the ball to the Brazilian. Denisov missed the CSKA forward in his zone, and he still scored after more than 20 inaccurate shots on someone else's goal. Cherchesov, who watched the derby from the stands, was once again convinced that he was right.
The team coach could only wait for miracles from Dzagoev, to whom he gave a large advance with his challenge. The army midfielder did not disappoint: he returned the ball to the game, which was already flying over the goal line, and Bibras Natkho was able to shoot Kochenkov point-blank. CSKA led with a score of 2:1 at the end of the first half.
One and a half removals for CSKA
Immediately after the break, the army team remained in the minority - Khosonov received a second yellow card for a clash with Taras Mikhalik and, leaving the field, commented obscenely on the sending off. This episode did not teach the CSKA players anything, and very soon Sergei Karasev had to intervene again. Pontus Wernbloom roughly elbowed Alexei Miranchuk, causing the Russian national team player to end up on the lawn.
The entire Lokomotiv team rose to defend the midfielder, but the army team did not stand aside, so a massive brawl almost broke out on the field. Even Yuri Semin and Viktor Goncharenko were ready to fight hand-to-hand. Karasev needed a few minutes to restore order and deal with the sanctions. They turned out to be quite mild: Wernbloom only received a warning, although he deserved to be sent off not only for hitting Miranchuk in the face, but also for talking in a raised voice.
Fernandes' second chance
Lokomotiv knows how to take advantage of their numerical advantage - just remember the match with Spartak in the first round of the RFPL. Having fought off four corner kicks in a row at their goal, the railroad workers began a retaliatory assault. Farfan, who survived a painful hit against the post, jumped out one on one with Viktor Vasin and ended up on the lawn. Karasev immediately awarded a penalty. Fernandes approached the point and disappointed the Russian Railways Arena - Akinfeev parried the shot.
The Portuguese national team player did not despair and became the hero of the next episode, which influenced the final result. Anton Miranchuk made a longitudinal pass, after which Fernandes found himself in front of an open goal. The second time he did not shy away from Akinfeev - 2:2.
Lokomotiv and CSKA tied, and this is a good sign for their pursuers. In the match with Rubin, Zenit will be able to reduce the gap from the railway workers to one point, and Krasnodar has regained third place in the standings. The match, which could have ended in favor of one of the Moscow teams, brought the greatest joy to the competitors.
The leader of the Russian championship, Lokomotiv, hardly snatched a draw from CSKA in the 16th round of the Premier League. This is clearly not the result that the “railroad” team should have counted on in the home match, given that an hour before the starting whistle their opponent lost one of their key players: the army midfielder suffered a muscle injury in pre-match training and was replaced by 19 -year-old Khetag.
The confident start by Yuri Semin’s team further convinced Loko fans that they should expect a confident victory this evening:
Emotions on the field became even greater after Pontus Wernbloom openly hit Alexei Miranchuk in the face with his elbow, for which he could well have received a straight red card.
but decided to limit myself to yellow. Goncharenko, who desperately stood up for his player, praised him for his assertiveness and set an example for the team’s forwards:
“The question here is that the strikers have to apply pressure, and Pontus knows how to do that. And our forwards who remain on the bench must watch how he performs the functions of a forward.”
The head coach of Lokomotiv, who clearly had a different opinion about that episode, after the match casually complained about the lack of video replays in the RFPL:
“Video replays will be all over the world, but I am afraid of one thing: by the time they are introduced here, I will end my coaching career.
Did you watch the match between Borussia and Bayern (1:3) yesterday? It required a replay; everyone watched it, to be honest. If the judge had watched the replay today, there would not have been a clash after the collision between Wernbloom and Miranchuk.”
As a result, despite all the efforts of CSKA to maintain the winning score, Loko achieved a draw - although not on the first try. could have restored equality in the 76th minute, but failed to score from the penalty spot - he guessed the direction of the kick. However, three minutes before the end of regular time, the Portuguese scored from the game, and there were no more changes on the scoreboard - 2:2.
Semin, oddly enough, recognized this result as natural:
“I think the draw is fair. We could either win or lose.
My impressions of the meeting were very good in the sense that in a short time we were able to find emotions for this wonderful match. The main thing is that the team has character, we will move on.”
However, the president of Lokomotiv clearly disagrees with the team coach on this issue. After the meeting, the functionary spoke rather harshly about Wernbloom’s violation of Miranchuk:
“In my opinion, in the moment with Wernbloom there was an ejection. It seems to me that he generally had many more moments when he should have been removed than actual removals. He is the most un-removable player in the championship so far. We need to do something about this.
Pontus is kind of untouchable. Crystal. It's like you can't see what he's doing. To hit someone in the face with impunity is a disgrace.”
Moreover, Herkus posted a photo of the train on his Instagram, signing it quite categorically:
“Progress still cannot be stopped! Back in the mid-19th century, steam locomotives pushed horses to the sidelines of history.”
