The first match of the RPL Path semi-final of the Russian Cup, held at the VEB Arena, ended with a score of 2:1 in favor of the red and blues.
Andrei Lunev and Roberto Fernandez returned to the fraternal derby, and the center of the field turned out to be completely Russian: Dmitry Alexandrov, Egor Smelov and Daniil Fomin. Also this time Bitello got into the starting lineup.
It was the Brazilian who struck the first blow in the match in the second minute, shifting from the left flank to the center – it came out much higher. Juan Caceres's unexpected shot almost from the sideline was on target, but Vladislav Torop caught the ball in the near corner. A quick attack turned out to be even more dangerous, ending with a half-shot-half-pass by Bitello, who was interrupted at the last moment by Willian Rocha.
At first, the army team had more possession of the ball, but our players blocked all approaches to the goal, and a few crosses into the penalty area were interrupted by the Paraguayan trio and Dmitry Skopintsev. The attack group, on the other hand, put great pressure on the opponents in their half of the field, preventing them from making combinations.
The match was held in the pouring rain, and Dynamo did not hesitate to beat from afar. However, the accuracy of the shots of Fomin and Fernandez was not enough. CSKA had, perhaps, one really dangerous moment in the first half, when Miralem Pjanic brought Sekou Koita to the strike position, and Andrei Lunev deflected a point-blank shot with his chest.
The second half started with very open football, and the hosts scored first goal in the 50th minute. Koita beat Fernandez with an elegant movement and struck powerfully from 20 meters – the ball touched the crossbar and flew into the net. Soon Dynamo found its own long-range weapon: Skopintsev received the ball from Fomin, moved forward and hit the near top corner from the penalty area line!
The kaleidoscope of events continued with an unpleasant episode when El-Mehdi Maouhoub hit Torop's thigh. Kirill Levnikov immediately took out a red card, the hosts got the majority for 30 minutes and used it very quickly. Kirill Glebov crossed into the penalty area from the right flank, and Matvey Kislyak irresistibly struck with his head.
Marcel Licka made a change: he released Jorge Carrascal and Eli Dasa on the field, switching to a scheme with three central defenders, and Yaroslav Gladyshev moved to the forefront of the attack. Dynamo were clearly not going to sit out on the defensive: Carrascal stormed into the penalty area and hit the target hard – Torop saved his team, Fomin's long-range shot passed a meter from the right post, Bitello's shot from the penalty line landed also there.
CSKA had a good moment when Musaev and Glebov prevented each other from striking from the most advantageous position, and as a result, the ball flew right into Lunev's hands. In the end, Dynamo went forward with great strength, but neither Fabian Balbuena's header after a cross from the flank, nor Arthur's shot reached the target.
The return leg will be held in mid-April, and in the next match of the RPL Dynamo will face Lokomotiv on March 15.
