The encounter of the Mir Russian Premier League 8th round that was held at VTB Arena, ended in a 1:1 draw.
Four Dynamo players were not included in the team list for medical reasons. Fabian Balbuena and Jorge Carrascal returned late from their national teams and were not ready to start the game. As a result, Nicholas Marichal formed a centre-back tandem with 18-year-old Ivan Lepsky, who made his debut for the first team.
The visitors organized the first potentially dangerous attack in the match: Aleksandr Troshechkin fired from 25-meter spot and Anton Shunin denied a threat in a jump. Then Edgar Sevikyan missed the opportunity heading the ball over the crossbar.
Dynamo players tried to move the ball quickly counting on Konstantin Tyukavin' runs. One of them became successful: Kostya left Kirill Gotsuk behind, entered the penalty area and was fouled on inside it. After video review Yevgeny Kukulyak saw a foul and awarded the penalty which was converted elegantly by Fedor Smolov.
Soon Tyukavin could double the lead, but Artur Nigmatullin was able to make a save. Anton Shunin did the same when calmly catching the ball after Nikolay Kalinskiy's low shot. The White-Blues put pressure on the opponents and played with great desire but ball losses happened still often. After one of the corners Diego Laxalt performed a bicycle kick while Nicolas Ngamaleu missed the target aiming at the near corner.
Dynamo could be punished for their prodigality by the half-time whistle. Shunin palmed the ball away after the ricochet caused by Kalinskiy's long-range attempt and then Eli Dasa blocked Nikita Kakkoyev's strike. Despite Sergey Yuran's changes the White-Blues continued to dominate in the second half. In the 60th minute our newcomer Bitello came out as a substitute. The Brazilian could score his opener at Dynamo very soon but didn't manage to turn home Smolov's low cross.
Then the five-minute activity by the visitors came. Firstly, Kukulyak awarded a penalty in favor of Pari NN, when the ball touched Dasa's elbow. Fortunately, VAR referees defined that there was no handball and the penalty was cancelled. Shunin jumped high to deny Karapuzov's heavy strike. Licka strengthened the defense by fielding Balbuena instead of Lepsky.
After a little pause the hosts continued to create chances at Pari NN goal. Skopintsev was not able to convert Bitello's clever cross from the right wing. Then Chavez performed a free kick but the ball flew over the crossbar. When two minutes remained before the end of the match, the Nizhny Novgorod side scored an equaliser. Juan Boselli crossed to the centre of the penalty box and Nikoloz Kutateladze scored a backheel goal. In added time Marcel Licka's men tried to restore the lead but all attacks were in vain.
Dynamo collected 15 points and climbed to the second place in the table. Four days later the White-Blues will face Krasnodar in the Russian Cup group stage clash.