The encounter of the Mir Russian Premier League 30th round, which was held at Krasnodar Arena, ended in a 1:0 win for the hosts.
From the first minutes both sides hit the ground running. At first, Dynamo players earned two corners, but they did not manage to create any danger from them. Then, Eduard Spertsyan ran down the left wing and rolled the ball to Nikita Krivtsov – the young midfielder failed to shoot on target. The starting period of activity ended by a harsh foul on Diego Laxalt, for which Aleksandr Chernikov was awarded a yellow card.
Krasnodar took over the initiative and controlled the ball for a long time, but the Bulls could not create any danger, even when Fabian Balbuena was rendered necessary aid for a couple of minutes. Perhaps the most memorable episode of the half was the symbolic replacement of boots by Jorge Carrascal from yellow to blue and white ones.
The hosts seemed to open the score by using their first serious effort. Jhon Cordoba ran along the penalty line and struck powerfully through the center. The ball touched Roberto Fernandez and ricocheted into the corner. Fortunately, the VAR referees determined that it was offside and the goal was cancelled.
Finally, the White-Blues seized their chance: Carrascal pounced on a mistake made by Olakunle Olusegun and broke through one-on-one with Matvey Safonov, but he couldn't beat the Krasnodar goalkeeper from close range.
The second half started with the hosts' pressure, culminating in a goal at the 52nd minute. Lucas Olaza crossed low along the goal, and Cordoba drilled the ball into the net, putting his team in the provisional first place in the table. Right after that, Marcel Licka fielded Bitello instead of Carrascal.
Dynamo players, driven by over three thousand fans in the stands, rushed to come from behind. Konstantin Tyukavin earned a dangerous free-kick, from which Luis Chavez tried to outsmart Safonov, but to no avail. Then Bitello tested the Russian international with a long-range shot and earned a corner. After several clearances the ball bounced back to the Brazilian, who missed the far corner.
Even a better chance was created for him by Tyukavin, who sent the Brazilian midfielder with a smart pass breaking through on the left wing – Bitello closed in on the goalkeeper and rolled the ball towards the far corner for the onrushing Nicolas Ngamaleu, but a defender cleared it to a corner at the last moment. A few minutes later, in a similar situation, the Brazilian's pass went through, and Ngamaleu shot over the crossbar. The next substitutes were Sergey Parshivlyuk and Vyacheslav Grulev, who traditionally plays well against Krasnodar.
And the ending was befitting the status of the match. First, within two minutes, the ball hit the right post of Safonov's goal twice – Chavez shot nicely from outside the penalty area, and shortly from a corner kick, Fernandez was quicker than anyone else and struck into the post from three meters out. Then, within two minutes, Parshivlyuk received two yellow cards, and already in added time, Leshchuk made two superb saves, denying point-blank shots from Cordoba and Moses Kobnan.
Unfortunately, there was neither the time nor the energy left for a championship goal after that. Having collected 56 points (matching the team's best result for championships with 30 rounds), Dynamo became the bronze medalist of the Russian Premier League, losing to Krasnodar head-to-head.
