The match of the 3rd round of the Russian Premier League, held at VTB Arena, ended with the victory of our team with a score of 3:1.
After the match in Kaliningrad, Sandro Schwartz changed his full-back positions, with Juan Cáceres and Rubens starting. Timofey Marinkin also replaced Danil Glebov in midfield, while the attacking line remained unchanged. Makhachkala's two former Blue-Whites, Yegor Smelov and Daniil Lesovoy, started the game.
Dynamo, as the hosts, began to lay siege to Timur Magomedov's penalty area from the very start, trapping Makhachkala in their own half. Most of the attacks came down the right flank, where Cáceres and Yaroslav Gladyshev occasionally found open space, but their crosses lacked precision.
It's all the more surprising that the visitors had their first dangerous moment. In the 13th minute, Bitello's careless backpass turned into a pass to Miro, who found himself alone in front of Kurbang Rasulov's goal. Fortunately, the Angolan forward missed. The first shot on target went to Marinkin, who shot from the penalty line almost down the center; Magomedov secured the ball on his second attempt.
Soon, Konstantin Tyukavin delivered a superb pass from deep to Gladyshev. Yaroslav entered the penalty area and slipped the ball between the defender's legs, but Daniil Fomin was just a moment ahead of his opponent. Bitello shot at goal twice, but both times the ball went well over the target.
In the second half, the Makhachkala team grew bolder and began mounting more attacks. One of the most prominent players on the field was Smelov, who also took all the set pieces. After one of them, Houssem Mrezig dangerously volleyed a shot over the crossbar. Nikita Glushkov also aimed for the top corner from a good position, but again, it went over the bar.
The visitors started the second half very actively and quickly earned a dangerous free kick. Smelov fired a powerful shot from about 20 meters, and Rasulov, with a beautiful leap, deflected the ball for a corner. In another incident, Egor assisted Mohamed Azzi, who volleyed a shot over the crossbar. Gladyshev had a similar opportunity a minute earlier, with the same outcome. Overall, the Muscovites lacked pace and creative solutions. A series of substitutions brought the game into life, bringing on Viktor Okishor, Ivan Sergeyev, Dmitry Skopintsev, and Anton Miranchuk.
Okishor first tested Magomedov's vigilance with a long-range shot, which he made good. In the 77th minute, he assisted Marinkin, who perfectly placed the ball into the bottom corner of the net from 20 meters, scoring his first goal for the first team. Just two minutes later, Tyukavin elegantly backheeled the ball into the penalty area, where Skopintsev fired an unstoppable right-footed shot into the same spot – 2-0!
But it was too early to celebrate: two minutes passed, and Mrezig crossed from the right flank, and Gamid Agalarov pulled one back. Dynamo didn't allow the visitors to create more, but in stoppage time, they put a beautiful end to the game. Sergeev made a brilliant pass to Okishor, who first beat the goalkeeper, beat a defender with a flick, and rolled the ball to Miranchuk, who had to make sure he didn't miss the empty net.
Their first victory of the season was followed by their first victory in the championship. In the next round, Dynamo will play away against Zenit St. Petersburg on August 16.
