The match of the 12th round of the Russian Premier League, held at VTB Arena, ended with a score of 2:2.
The coaching staff made two changes to the usual starting lineup for the final matches before the October break: 19-year-old Kurban Rasulov made his debut in goal, and Roberto Fernandez joined Maksim Osipenko in central defense this time, while Bakhtiyor Zaynutdinov moved to the left flank.
From the very first minutes, Dynamo made clear their intention to play as the first lineup and constantly pressed. In the sixth minute, Osipenko made a long diagonal pass to the left flank, from which Anton Miranchuk crossed into the penalty area. Giorgi Shelia failed to secure the ball, but Ivan Sergeyev fired over the bar from inside the penalty area.
The Dynamo forward corrected himself after 10 minutes. Zainutdinov earned a free kick on the left flank, Miranchuk served in the center of the penalty area – Shelia coped with the first header of El-Mehdi Mauhuba, but immediately Sergeev shouldered the ball over the goal line. However, after 5 minutes the score became equal again: Juan Caceres unsuccessfully threw the ball out of the out, Maxim Samorodov whipped a shot from the penalty line, Rasulov deflected the shot, and Georgy Melkadze was the first to finish – 1:1.
The game calmed down for a while, and exploded again 10 minutes before the break. In his penalty area, Bitello lightly touched Maxim Sidorov with his hand, and he fell to the lawn. Ranel Ziyakov did not see any violations, but after he was called to watch a video replay of the episode, he changed his mind and awarded a penalty. Grozny captain Lechi Sadulaev approached the ball and sent it over the crossbar.
At the end of the half, another unpleasant event occurred – Miranchuk was forced to leave the field due to damage, and Yaroslav Gladyshev came out instead. During the break, another substitution took place – Rubens replaced Zainutdinov on the left flank. The game continued in the same vein: Dynamo had the game advantage, the guests acted on counterattacks.
Dynamo lacked creative options to penetrate Grozny's organized defensive line, so for the final 30 minutes, Valeri Karpin fielded Aleksandr Kutitskiy and Konstantin Tyukavin, who played center forward, while Gladyshev and Sergeyev occupied the wings.
Soon, Kostya made good work of two opponents and found Fomin in the penalty area, who played a one-two with Gladyshev. Only a sliding tackle from the defender saved the visitors from trouble. Yaroslav was immediately replaced by Dmitry Skopintsev, taking an unfamiliar position on the right side of the attack.
Akhmat had two good chances: Rasulov stopped Rifat Zhemaletdinov's powerful shot, and Mohamed Konate's shot went wide. Our team responded just as sharply: Fomin fired from the left side of the penalty area, which Shelia blocked in front of him and managed to stop Fernandez's follow-up.
The end of the match was fiery once again. In the 88th minute, the visitors took the lead when Egas Kasintura fired past Rasulov from close range. And in stoppage time, a brilliant move saved the blue-and-whites from defeat: Kutitsky cut the ball to the left edge of the penalty area, Sergeyev perfectly placed it on Tyukavin's head, and Kostya chipped it into the far corner, scoring his 50th goal for Dynamo!
In the final minute, the Grozny team could have snatched three points, but Ismael Silva's long-range shot was blocked by the crossbar. Dynamo will host Krylia Sovetov Samara in their next match in the FONBET Russian Cup on October 22. Tickets for VTB Arena are available on our website.
