The match of the 6th round of the Russian Premier League, held at the RZD Arena, ended with the victory of our team with a score of 1:0.
In the week following the victory over Rodina, the Blue-Whites' starting lineup saw four changes: Juan Cáceres and Rubens returned to the wingers, Danil Glebov replaced Timofey Marinkin in midfield, and Ivan Sergeev replaced the injured Konstantin Tyukavin as center forward and captain.
Dynamo, as usual, started the match more actively than their opponents and immediately seized the initiative. Yaroslav Gladyshev, in the penalty area, got past two defenders and fired a shot toward the near corner, which Bitello blocked. Juan Cáceres delivered a good cross to Sergeev, who tried to chip Anton Mitryushkin, but Mitryushkin closed the distance in time and caught the ball on his chest. A couple of minutes later, the home team's goalkeeper made another save after Sergeev's sharp shot into the corner.
Lokomotiv relied on counterattacks and their fast attack. Alexander Rudenko received two goals in the penalty area – his first shot found the net from the outside, and the second was confidently saved by Kurban Rasulov. The young goalkeeper also provided cover for the defenders with a couple of well-timed runs.
The end of the half was evenly contested, and was memorable only for Sergeyev's third shot, which was again saved by Mitryushkin. As a result, after 45 minutes of play, the scoreboard read a fitting zero.
The second half began with a back-and-forth battle: first, Gladyshev delivered a good cross into the center of the penalty area, where Sergeyev was just a hair short of a well-aimed header. In the counterattack, Vadim Rakov fired from a tight angle just wide of the post. In the 59th minute, Sergey Pinyaev even sent the ball into the net, but his assist, Danila Godyaev, was offside.
By this time, Dynamo had made its first substitution: Luis Chavez took Anton Miranchuk's place in the center of the field. A little later, Marinkin replaced Arthur, and Bitello moved to the left flank. Dynamo launched several good attacks, and in the 71st minute, they earned a penalty. The pressure worked – Gladyshev intercepted the ball near the penalty area and went down a few seconds later after contact with Cesar Montes. Maxim Osipenko confidently converted the penalty!
Dynamo defended confidently for the remaining time, preventing their opponents from creating a single scoring opportunity. In one instance, Rasulov made a selfless interception, and Montes, who hadn't reached the ball in time, hit him in the head with his hand. As a result, Kurban had to finish the match wearing a protective helmet.
After two consecutive derby victories, a third awaits in a week – against Spartak at VTB Arena on September 6. In their next match, Dynamo will host Akhmat Grozny on September 3. Tickets for the cup match are available on our website.
