The encounter of the Mir Russian Premier League 2nd round, which was held at VTB Arena, ended in a 3:1 win for the hosts.
In comparison with the first round line-up, Dynamo lost two important players – Daniil Fomin missed the game due to suspension, while Diego Laxalt didn't train because of back pain during the week. As a result, Aleksandr Kutitsky and Luka Gagnidze formed a tandem in the midfield. In total, Dynamo fielded seven players under-23.
Already at the start of the match, both sides exchanged dangerous chances. Sergey Pinyayev played solo for Lokomotiv: at first the 19-year-old winger struck near the post from a good position from a corner, and then Andrey Lunyov fished the ball out from under the crossbar after the ricochet from a defender.
In response, Nicolas Ngamaleu demonstrated miracle dribbling on the wing, leaving two opponents behind him, and rolled the ball out under Gagnidze's shot – Ilya Lantratov was on the spot. A minute later, Moumi assisted on Bitello, who stayed in the promising position, and again the goalkeeper of the visiting team played confidently. But in the 12th minute he had no chance: Konstantin Tyukavin, who came out with the captain's armband, earned a free kick, Bitello rolled cunningly on Gagnidze, and Luka shot accurately into the left top corner from 16 meters!
Lunyov neutralized Dmitry Vorobyov's run immediately at the cost of a small injury. However Milan Majstorovic got the worst of it – accidentally Stanislav Bessmertnyi broke his teammate's nose in aerial struggle. In his turn, Bitello could have doubled the lead of the White-Blues. The Brazilian benefited from a mistake made by Lokomotiv defender, but, unfortunately, he missed the near corner.
The next five minutes were marked by dangerous chances created by the visitors. At first, Maksim Nenakhov was close to upset his former team – Ivan Lepsky managed to put his foot under the shot, and Lunyov turned the ball into the crossbar with the tips of his gloves. Then, Dynamo goalkeeper denied firmly Aleksey Batrakov's powerful strike. A minute later, Andrey corrected his own mistake, winning another duel with Vorobyov.
And yet, Marcel Licka's former ward at Orenburg achieved his goal by the end of the half. Pinyayev dragged the ball along the left wing and rolled it into the center of the penalty box. Vorobyov awaited this chance and struck calmly into the corner – 1:1.
Lokomotiv had two super chances at the beginning of the second half: firstly, Lepskiy made a mistake inside his penalty area, and Lunyov saved the team by deflecting Vladislav Sarveli's shot at point-blank range. A minute later Ilya Samoshnikov hit the post from 7 meters. Dynamo stood up and scored on their own: Sergey Karasyov did not whistle for a penalty after Gerzino Nyamsi stepped on Tyukavin's foot, but awarded a corner kick. Bitello crossed well, and Majstorovic hammered the ball into the net from 3 meters. The third debut goal for Dynamo in two rounds and the fourth assist by Bitello!
The White-Blues were inspired and could have extended their lead. Tyukavin rolled the ball under Gagnidze's shot, but the Georgian midfielder failed to score a second marvelous goal. Yaroslav Gladyshev put his foot under Ngamaleu's long-range strike, and Lantratov only managed to stop the ball only on the goal line.
After a triple substitution, Dynamo switched to two forwards (Vyacheslav Grulyov joined Tyukavin). Bitello and Yegor Nazarenko built a duo of central midfielders. In his turn, Nazarenko made the debut in the RPL. It was Grulyov, who started another fast attack, finding Gladyshev in the penalty box. Yaroslav crossed low at the far post, and Ngamaleu converted his teammate's assist into an empty net.
Lunyov continued to reign at goal – first, Lepskiy and he dealt with Nair Tiknizyan's most difficult header at point-blank range, and already in added time Dynamo goalkeeper took the ball out from under the crossbar after Nyamsi's header. The 20-year-old defender Leon Zaydenzal played for the first time in an official RPL match for the White-Blues.
As a result, Dynamo collected 6 points after 2 rounds and took the second place in the standings. Now Marcel Licka's men will play an away Cup match against Spartak Moscow on July 31.
