The leader of the Russian Premier League, Krasnodar, faced a difficult test after a break for national team matches. Vladimir Ivich’s team was about to visit Akhmat, who is traditionally adamant in his field.
Before this match, it was worth paying attention to two more important facts. Firstly, in the standings of the last championship, the Grozny team finished above its rivals in the next round. Secondly, the “bulls” in the matches against Akhmat in the 2022/23 season scored only one point. Therefore, the next face-to-face meeting of the teams was expected to be extremely interesting. That’s how it turned out in the end.
FC “Akhmat”
Krasnodar did not leave Spartak any chance. Córdoba’s brilliant goal gave the victory
At the same time, the stands at the Grozny stadium were surprisingly sparsely filled. The only thing that attracted attention was the traditionally noisy Krasnodar guest sector. Who was paralyzed with bewilderment already in the third minute. Camilo fought for the ball and broke through the visiting defense with an excellent pass. Ivan Oleynikov took advantage of his opportunity and left no chance for Matvey Safonov.
Krasnodar, as expected, came alive and were able to tie the score midway through the half. Now Juan Córdoba made his way towards the rival goal and beat the goalkeeper. But the joy was short-lived: Vladimir Moskalev did not even have to consult with the VAR judges to make the final decision. Offside, and the score on the scoreboard remained the same.
But shortly before the break, the main referee still had to hear the voice in the earpiece. Krasnodar scored again and this time the situation was much more ambiguous. After not too long negotiations, Moskalev pointed to the center. The score in this exciting match was level.
FC “Akhmat”
The numbers on the scoreboard could change more than once before the half-time whistle. “Krasnodar” greatly increased its momentum and seriously threatened Shelia’s possessions. However, the teams went to the locker room with equal scores. It remained to be seen which adjustments (Vladimir Ivich’s or Miroslav Romashchenko’s) would be more effective.
But the second half started again with Akhmat’s attacks. And at one point the Grozny team was simply forced to take the lead on the scoreboard again. Vladimir Ilyin received a pass from Oleinikov, took Safonov offside and fired a shot into the empty net from point-blank range. How the post interfered with the ball in this situation can hardly be explained even by the home team’s own forward.
FC Krasnodar
In such a brilliant match, it went almost unnoticed that the usual leader of Krasnodar’s attacks, Eduard Spertsyan, spent most of the match on the bench. The number ten of the guests did not enter the field until midway through the second half. But the trump card that Vladimir Ivich had up his sleeve did not work this time. “Akhmat” played calmly in defense and made some good counterattacks. And yet, the numbers on the scoreboard at the end of the first half remained unchanged. 1:1 – Krasnodar loses points in a match they could have lost.
