The match of the 17th round of the Russian Premier League, held in Grozny, ended with a score of 2:1 in favor of the hosts.
After the cup defensive formation, Rolan Gusev returned to his standard 4-3-3, with Roberto Fernandez and Leon Zaydenzal occupying the wingers, Rubens once again in the holding midfield, and the attacking trio of Ulvi Babayev, Konstantin Tyukavin, and Nicolas Ngamaleu.
The teams started the match briskly, countering attack with attack. Tyukavin fired a powerful shot from outside the penalty area, and Bitello, after a save from the goalkeeper, missed the target. Egas Kasintura then crossed to the far post, where Maxim Samorodov fired into the net from the outside of the goal. Babayev then carried the ball along the penalty area and passed it to Rubens, who fired a right-footed shot over the crossbar.
Zaydenzal also actively joined the attacking play. First, he made a brilliant throw-in, after which only a desperate save from a defender saved the hosts from Bitello's shot. Then the young defender delivered a superb diagonal pass to Tyukavin, who sent Babayev through on goal at an angle, and Ulvi beat the defender with a flick-on shot — Vadim Ulyanov saved his team again.
And then it was time for Andrei Lunev to show his reaction. Georgiy Melkadze won the fight in the penalty area and rolled the ball to Keliano, who hit Maksim Osipenko on the goal line from a few meters away. Samorodov then curled the ball into the far corner, and Lunev saved the shot with a beautiful dive.
Such a multitude of chances simply couldn't help but result in a goal. In the 26th minute, Bitello took a corner, Nicolas Marichal headed it to the far post, where an unmarked Ngamaleu sent the ball into the net!
Grozny finished the half with the upper hand: Keliano twice shot from good positions, but the first missed the target, and the second was blocked by Maxim Osipenko. Tyukavin also had a good opportunity, volleying after a poor scissor kick by Babayev, but the ball sailed over the crossbar.
The second half began with Babayev being replaced by Yaroslav Gladyshev, and Akhmat quickly responded. Darko Todorović moved down the flank and crossed into the penalty area. Kasintura shot at Osipenko, the ball rebounded to Melkadze, who fired it into the net from close range.
The game continued on a back-and-forth basis: Bitello and Ngamaleu's shots lacked precision, as did Melkadze's dangerous shot from close range. But Daniil Fomin made a good header into the corner after a cross from Rubens, but Ulyanov again showed miracles of reaction.
Ivan Sergeyev replaced Ngamaleu and could have quickly earned a dangerous free kick, but the referee failed to call a foul just a meter from the penalty area. VAR reviewed the potential foul by Ousmane Ndong, the last-ditch player, and dismissed a clear error by Yan Bobrovsky.
Danil Glebov, who had been out for a month due to injury, came on for the final 15 minutes, after which Rubens returned to left defense. In the 83rd minute, the hosts earned a penalty when Zayidenzal blocked a cross into the penalty area with his hand. Ndong fired the ball under the post from the spot, leaving Lunev no chance.
Dynamo took several corners in the remaining time but were unable to recover. Dynamo will play Spartak away in their final match of the year on December 6.
