The full time of the opening match of the BetBoom Dynamo Global Challenge tournament, held in Abu Dhabi, ended with a score of 2:2, and the blue and whites were stronger in the penalty shootout (5:3).
Rolan Gusev fielded practically the strongest lineup available: Roberto Fernandez lined up at left back, while Rubens, as usual, played in the holding midfield. The attacking trio consisted of Ulvi Babaev, Konstantin Tyukavin, and Nicolas Ngamaleu.
The Chinese players, who had received Dynamo fur hats from Viktoria Lopyreva before the match, "thanked" the Muscovites with a very quick goal. In the second minute, an attack down the right flank resulted in a cross that reached Rafael Ratao, who fired past Andrei Lunev.
However, the blue-and-whites quickly gathered themselves and responded with a similar attack: Daniil Fomin spotted Juan Cáceres on the right flank, the Paraguayan crossed the ball along the goal line, which an unmarked Bitello slotted home at the far post – 1-1 in the first five minutes!
After such a bright start, the game calmed down somewhat, with the Chinese Championship silver medalists, who featured former Liverpool player Joao Teixeira, enjoying territorial advantage. Rubens excelled in the center of the field for the blue-and-whites, regularly winning possession and initiating attacks.
Dynamo earned several promising set pieces, but were unable to capitalize on them. A corner was finally awarded in the 35th minute: Bitello crossed, Nicolas Marichal won the ball in the air, and Tyukavin did his job, backheeling the ball into the net! Unfortunately, the referee's whistle cut short the celebrations for offside. However, the Chinese club's backheel goal was not disallowed: Saulo Mineiro broke through down the left flank and passed to captain Wu Xi, who slotted the ball into the net.
After the break, Dynamo fielded a fresh squad, equalizing 40 seconds later. Dynamo's young players fought for possession in the center of the field, and Georgy Tikhomirov quickly sent Ivan Sergeev through, who sent the ball into the net with a single touch. Soon, the Muscovites could have taken the lead: first, Sergeev hit a defender after a pass from Gleb Miroshnichenko, and after a rebound, Viktor Okishor fired over the crossbar.
Shanghai weren't sitting back either – Yang Zexiang, after a cross from the right flank, nearly sent the ball into the top corner with his knee, missing it by just a few centimeters. In the 66th minute, the Chinese won the ball right outside our penalty area. Liu Chengyu found himself completely alone against Igor Leshchuk, but he forgave Dynamo by firing over the top.
The white-and-blues kept pace with their opponents, kept possession well, and found ways to continue their attack when possible. Maxim Balakhanov reacted brilliantly to a long ball and sent a sharp first-time pass to Sergeev, but the Chinese goalkeeper blocked the ball. Miroshnichenko then made a brilliant pass to Okishor, received a pass from him, and fired a powerful left-footed shot – again, the goalkeeper excelled beyond all praise.
The match ultimately ended in a draw in regulation time, and the match was decided in a penalty shootout. Anton Miranchuk, Sergeev, Miroshnichenko, Alexander Khubulov, and Okishor all converted, while one of their opponents' shots went over the crossbar.
The winner of the tournament will be determined by the results of the next match, in which Dynamo will play Chengdu Rongcheng on January 26.
