The match of the 14th round of the Russian Premier League, held in Kazan, ended with a score of 0:0.
This time, the defense was made up entirely of Spanish-speaking players, while the attack consisted of academy graduates. Daniil Fomin, who had served a suspension, returned to midfield, joining Danil Glebov and Bitello.
Dynamo seized control from the outset, focusing on short and medium passes. During one attack, Yaroslav Gladyshev intercepted a ball in the opposing half, approached the penalty area, and fired a left-footed shot just wide of the post. A little later, Ulvi Babayev found Bitello in the penalty area with a beautifully hidden pass, who crossed to Konstantin Tyukavin, who was momentarily outpaced by Evgeny Staver.
Babayev then found himself in the opposing penalty area, turned his opponent, and crossed to the penalty spot, where Juan Cáceres fired his weak left foot over the bar. The hosts traditionally tried to throw the ball to Mirlind Daku at every opportunity, who occasionally won the challenge but found little support from his teammates.
The first shot on target came in the 33rd minute: Rubens lobbed a great cross into the center of the penalty area, and Gladyshev headed the ball into the bottom corner. Staver reacted and deflected it away. In the next attack, Babayev found himself in a scoring position and, at an angle, fired just wide of the post. In stoppage time, Bitello had a superb opportunity, lobbling Staver. The goalkeeper touched the ball, and then Konstantin Nizhegorodov acrobatically cleared it off the line.
The second half began with the home team in the ascendancy: they took several dangerous corners, made promising passes, and Ugochukwu Iwu's long-range shot went just inches over the crossbar. In the 58th minute, Nizhegorodov went from Rubin's hero to Rubin's antihero, receiving a second yellow card for holding Tyukavin as he ran toward the goal.
Having gained a numerical advantage, Dynamo quickly shifted the game to Kazan's half, and Valeri Karpin made a double substitution: Rubens and Fomin were replaced by Dmitry Skopintsev and Alexander Kutitsky. But breaking through Kazan's tight defense was no easy task, and Staver blocked virtually all of the numerous crosses from the flanks.
The blue-and-whites did have two good chances late on, but Skopintsev's shot was blocked by a defender, and the home team's goalkeeper was quick to spot a clever header from Bitello after a free kick.
The result was a goalless draw, leaving the teams in their respective places in the standings. Dynamo will next play away against Zenit St. Petersburg on November 5 in the FONBET Russian Cup quarterfinals.
