Nikola Moro and Jhon Cordoba
The encounter of the Mir Russian Premier League fifth round that was held at VTB Arena ended in a goalless draw.
Arsen Zakharyan and Daniil Fomin's return made Dynamo formation usual. Luka Gagnidze joined the captain in the midfield, while Zakharyan and Vyacheslav Grulev found themselves on wings. Krasnodar Colombian centre-forward Jhon Cordoba fully recovered from injury and came out on the pitch from the first minutes.
The visitors took the ball under control but Dynamo were sharper in counterattacks. Smolov played brightly twice outrunning the defenders and disturbing Matvey Safonov with smart efforts.
Fedor Smolov (in the middle)
In the next episode Safonov played on nerves of the Bulls' supporters. The Krasnodar captain made a mistake when kicking the ball away. However, Grulev coundn't disappont his favourite team once again. In continuation of the attack Gagnidze showed his powerful left-footed strike that went wide.
Krasnodar built their attacks on tricky dribbling of the Nigerian Olakunle Olusegun who had made a great contribution into the previous round defeat over Lokomotiv. Dynamo players looked solid and blocked all potentially dangerous shots.
Following the tradition, the White-Blues threatened with corner kicks which were a real strength during the last season. Nikola Moro won the position but his header has not been converted into a goal. By the half-time whistle Sergey Parshivlyuk hit Olusegun instinctively. The touch was not enough for a red card and the referee showed the yellow one.
After the break both sides continued to exchange chances. Firstly, Safonov cut the distance and neutralised a potential threat coming from Smolov. In the opposite box Cordoba rolled the ball to Nikita Krivtsov who struck wide from a nice position.
Arsen Zakharyan and Eduard Spertsyan
The last goal scoring chance in the match was created by Dynamo. Skopintsev made a solo run into the penalty area, outran two opponents and hit the near corner – Safonov played brilliantly. Dynamo spent the rest of the game in regular attacks. But the spectators didn't see any goal that evening.
The White-Blues picked up 9 points and took the fifth spot in the table. In the next round our team will face Spartak in the oldest Moscow derby on August 20.