The match of the 4th round of the group stage of the Russian Cup, held in Grozny, ended with a score of 2:1 in favor of our team.
Sandro Schwartz remained faithful to the practice of extensive rotation at cup matches and left only Rubens in the starting lineup that started the game in Kazan, since Dmitry Skopintsev was serving a suspension for two yellow cards. Ivan Sergeev came out with the captain's armband for the match, and newcomers Josue Kazimir and Maximiliano Gutierrez were on the edges of the attack.
Also, for the first time in the season, Alexander Kutitskiy appeared in the center of defense, but, unfortunately, his hundredth match for Dynamo turned out to be very short. Already in the third minute, he pulled the muscle and was replaced by Nicolas Marichal.
The first half of the half was held in a viscous struggle at a slow pace and without obvious scoring chances. Leon Zaydenzal decided to shoot from afar, and the ball, after a ricochet, flew into the hands of Rasul Mitsaev. Grozny had more possession of the ball and almost benefited from a corner kick: Lechi Sadulaev threw the ball with his head into the center of the penalty area, from where Kalidu Sidibe charged above the crossbar.
Dynamo didn't do much in front of the opponent's penalty area, however, one good attack was enough for them to leave for the break with an advantage. In the 45th minute, a protracted positional possession was "blown up" by Roberto Fernandez's vertical pass to Miranchuk, Anton transferred the ball to Kazimir with an elusive touch, he shot into the penalty area, and Viktor Okishor from the summer shot right into the right corner!
The hosts rushed to recoup with the start of the second half. After a free kick, a two–meter Sidibe hit his head with his head – higher, Ismael Silva twisted from 20 meters – Igor Leshchuk in a beautiful jump transferred the ball to the corner, Kirill Shchetinin hit from a good position - Leon Zaydenzal chest got in the way of the ball.
In the 59th minute, Schwartz replaced the entire attacking trio with Bitello, Konstantin Tyukavin and Yaroslav Gladyshev. And right there Dynamo had a great attack – Tyukavin brought Okishor to the strike position with his heel, but Vitya shot eight meters above the goal. A little later Tyukavin made a discount on Gladyshev with his head, and Mitsaev saved his team with his foot. Next, Yaroslav himself sent Bitello on a "date" with the Akhmat goalkeeper, and again Mitsaev repelled a blow from close range.
Leshchuk was not bored either, making a beautiful save after Sadulaev's free kick. Then Georgy Melkadze hit his head after Shchetinin's overhang – over the crossbar. After the exit of Danil Glebov, the sharpness at our gate subsided, but still in the added time the Grozny team was able to recoup – Egash Kasintura ambushed a rebound in a semicircle and sent the ball into the net with a turn from the summer.
It seemed that a penalty shootout was inevitable, but the attacking trio of blue and white had a different opinion. Two minutes later, Bitello hung into the penalty area, Tyukavin dropped the ball to Marinkin, he could have hit himself, but decided to roll on Gladyshev, who calmly rolled right into the corner!
Thus, Dynamo won the eighth victory in a row, scored 9 points and came out on top in group B. In the next match, the blue and white will host CSKA on October 18. Buy the latest tickets to VTB Arena on our website.
