The match of the 29th round of the Russian Premier League, held at VTB Arena, ended with the victory of our team with a score of 2:1.
After the cup match, there were only two changes to the starting lineup: Timofey Marinkin replaced Daniil Fomin in midfield, and Nicolas Ngamaleu replaced Yaroslav Gladyshev on the right flank.
The start of the match was memorable only for the intense battle all over the field and a couple of well-timed breakthroughs by Andrei Lunev. In the 13th minute, Marinkin spotted an unmarked Konstantin Tyukavin, who advanced and fired from about 20 meters wide. Kostya's next attempt, after a cross from the left flank, was more accurate, but Stanislav Agkatsev handled the shot easily.
The visitors' chances seemed more pressing. First, Valentin Paltsev's cross found Eduard Spertsyan, who was unable to get a clear shot off the post from close range. Then the Krasnodar team broke away 2 on 1, and Dynamo were saved only by the clever play of Nicolas Marichal, who interrupted a pass to John Cordoba, as well as the reaction of Lunev, who caught the ricocheted ball in the near corner.
The blue and white were very actively pressuring their rivals, sometimes even too much – so Tyukavin knocked down Spertsyan in the confrontation of the captains and was awarded a yellow card. Soon the referee recorded another foul on Cordoba on the right flank, Spertsyan served from the standard, and Diego Costa headed the ball into the corner – 0:1.
Dynamo did not give up and quickly carried out a beautiful attack, which, after Dmitry Skopintsev's pass from the flank, Bitello completed with a sweeping strike – the goalkeeper of the guests scored a spectacular save. In the next episode, the Brazilian received a penetrating pass from Tyukavin, but could not give an accurate pass from an acute angle. Already in added time, Maxim Osipenko was hitting his head after a corner kick – a little higher.
The persistence of Muscovites paid off immediately after the break. Bitello cut out a great pass to the right flank, Juan Caceres shot into the penalty area, where Tyukavin in a jump sent the ball to the near corner! After the goal, the game went on opposite courses, and in order to maintain high speeds, Roland Gusev made a double substitution already in the 60th minute - Anton Miranchuk and Ulvi Babaev came out instead of Bitello and Arthur.
Krasnodar took the initiative for a while, and it's time for Lunev to join the game. First, he took the ball after a hit by Vitor Tormena, then he corrected an unsuccessful takedown with a throw to Juan Boselli's feet, and a little later pulled Kevin Lenini's most dangerous shot into the corner.
But Andrei made truly heroic saves in the last ten minutes. Cordoba made a "scoop" on Lenini, who was hitting almost point blank – our goalkeeper got in the way of the ball with his chest. After a long takedown, Boselli ran off one-on-one, and again Lunev played above all praise, repelling the blow with his foot.
The most interesting thing happened after the 90th minute. First, the referee sent Rolan Gusev off the bench, showing him a second yellow card for leaving the technical area. Then Dynamo created two chances for Ivan Sergeyev. While the birthday boy's shot went wide in the first, in the second, he clearly received a pass from Gladyshev, beat the defender with a flick, and sent the ball into the near corner.
Thus ended the Blues' winless streak against Krasnodar, which had lasted since August 2023. Dynamo will play their final match of the season away against Baltika on May 17.
