The match of the 2nd round of the group stage of the Cup of Russia, held at VTB Arena, ended with a score of 0:1.
Sandro Schwarz employed a complete rotation compared to the match in St. Petersburg. The central defender pairing consisted of Roberto Fernandez and Milan Majstorovic, who hadn't played since May 1st. Luis Chavez also made his last start that same month, partnering Danil Glebov and Anton Miranchuk in midfield. Ivan Sergeyev donned the captain's armband.
Dynamo once again started the match very actively and immediately began targeting Alexander Koryakin's goal. Viktor Okishor did so twice – first, the ball hit Magomed Ozdoyev's outstretched hand, but the referees ignored it, and then rolled into the goalkeeper's hands.
Dmitry Skopintsev, as always, excelled on the left. In one episode, he skillfully controlled the ball with his chest, burst into the penalty area, and fired a powerful low shot – Koryakin saved his team. The Krasnodar team periodically launched counterattacks and even scored once: Juan Boselli completed a beautiful combination with a precise strike, but Daniil Utkin, who backheeled him, was in an offside position.
The blue-and-whites continued to build pressure. After a corner, Roberto Fernandez headed the ball into the near corner. Koryakin again reacted, but Okishor's follow-up was unsuccessful. Leon Zaydenzal then sent a beautiful cross to the far post, where Sergeyev narrowly missed.
Late in the game, the teams traded dangerous long-range shots from Chavez and Batchi, each of which led to another save. In the 44th minute, the visitors took the lead when Ulvi Babayev fumbled the ball in his own penalty area. It rebounded to Kazbek Mukailov, who fired past Leshchuk. Once again, the referee failed to notice a foul when the visiting forward pushed Ulvi.
Early in the second half, Leshchuk saved a difficult shot from Utkin, after which Dynamo took complete control. Babayev found Miranchuk in the penalty area, he shot first time, and Koryakin once again demonstrated his reaction, after which Chavez's follow-up shot went half a meter from the post.
Gradually, the Blue-and-Whites' leading players emerged, and the pressure on the visitors' goal increased. Arthur made a brilliant pass to Sergeyev, whose sliding tackle nearly hit the target. The Brazilian then fired from the edge of the penalty area, just wide of the post. Arthur then pushed past Valentin Paltsev on the left flank and entered the penalty area, but his pass was inaccurate.
Finally, Bitello's beautiful volley was saved by Koryakin. Dynamo began to press hard in the end, but numerous crosses failed to produce a result, as did Leshchuk's foray into the opposition penalty area.
In their next match, the Blue-and-Whites will host Rodina Moscow on August 23. Buy tickets for the VTB Arena on our website.
