The second match of Dynamo in the RPL Winter Cup ended with a score of 1:1, and in the penalty shootout our team turned out to be more accurate than CSKA (5:3).
This time, only one center forward started – Ulvi Babayev and Bitello flanked Konstantin Tyukavin, with Anton Miranchuk in the No. 10 spot. The defense and holding midfield lineup remained the same as in the previous match.
In the opening minutes, the Army Men bombarded Andrey Lunev's goal with set pieces, but our players handled all the crosses with confidence. Luciano Gondou, however, could have scored from open play, heading in Moises' cross, but the ball whistled over the crossbar.
Meanwhile, Dynamo's pressing near the opposition penalty area paid off twice. First, Bitello intercepted the ball, and Babaev made a brilliant pass to the center of the penalty area, where Miranchuk misdirected the pass and fired over the bar. Just a minute later, Tyukavin capitalized on a defender's mistake and passed to Anton, but his shot again went wide.
Then CSKA's momentum returned, leading to two dangerous set pieces: Lunev barely saved a header from Gondu, and Dzhamalutdin Abdulkadyrov missed the target a little later. Dynamo ended the game in their favor: Juan Cáceres fired a powerful shot from the corner of the penalty area, Igor Akinfeev parried it to the penalty spot, where Miranchuk sent the ball over the crossbar. At halftime, Rolan Gusev made six substitutions.
The second half began with a very dangerous moment near our goal: Moises chased down the ball near the byline and crossed into the center of the penalty area, where Ivan Oblyakov fired over from a great position. Dynamo responded with some fine play from their youth team: Leon Zaydenzal quickly put the ball in from the throw-in, Timofey Marinkin made a long ball into the penalty area, and Babaev fired an overhead kick – unfortunately, Akinfeev saved it.
In the 59th minute, a quick attack by the blue-and-whites ended with Ivan Sergeyev's precise cross into the penalty area, where Babayev was clearly brought down by Dmitry Barinov. The referee promptly awarded a penalty, and Maksim Osipenko fired a perfect shot into the top corner. Soon after, Viktor Okishor made a great catch of a clearance from the penalty area and fired a left-footed shot on the volley, but Akinfeev saved it.
The Army Men equalized 10 minutes later. Matvey Kislyak played a through ball to Maksim Voronov, who controlled the ball and sent it into the top corner from 13 meters. Five minutes later, the 18-year-old forward could have scored a second: Tamerlan Musayev fired a powerful shot from inside the penalty area, Lunev blocked the ball, and Voronov failed to properly adjust to the rebound.
The Army Men were more active towards the end of the half, with Imran Firov having two good chances. First, he missed a poor left-footed shot from the penalty area, and then, a little later, he took too long to control the ball, allowing Nicolas Marichal, the only outfield player to play the full 90 minutes, to clear it.
In the penalty shootout, Osipenko, Sergeev, Okishor, Gleb Miroshnichenko, and Nicolas Ngamaleu left Akinfeev no chance, while Lunev saved Daniel Ruiz's shot. The White-Blues will face Krasnodar in the final match of the tournament on February 10.
