The encounter of the Mir Russian Premier League first round that was held at VTB Arena, ended in a 3:1 win for the visitors.
Dynamo came to the season opener practically in full squad excluding Milan Majstorovic who was recovering from the knee injury. The Paraguayan duo Roberto Fernandez – Fabian Balbuena played as centre-backs. Fedor Smolov and Konstantin Tyukavin appeared in attack together, although Fedor dropped to the midfield more often.
The start of the match turned out to be provident – both sides played tight in defense and didn't leave enough room for fast counterattacks. During the first fifteen minutes the hosts organized one promising offensive. Tyukavin finished the header of Balbuena but shot over the crossbar.
Gradually, Krasnodar found their play and Dynamo had hard time. Balbuena saved the team when the visitors were close to punish the hosts' defenders making an offside trap.
After that Arsen Zakharyan missed two chances. Soon Matvey Safonov made another impressive save denying Ngamaleu's long-range effort. On the 27th minute the visitors opened the score. Eduard Spertsyan played on Jhon Cordoba who fired from distance. The ricochet off Balbuena's leg helped Krasnodar to take their lead.
By the end of the half the visitors extended goal advantage capitalising on a corner. Cordoba won the aerial duel and Aleksandr Chernikov beat Shunin from two meters. Our team went to the dressing room losing by 0:2.
After the interval Mathias Normann replaced Denis Makarov while Zakharyan shifted to the right wing. Having obtained necessary ball possession, the White-Blues conceded the third goal. Joao Batxi was offered an unpredicted gift and sent the ball over Shunin.
Krasnodar, inspired by success, could have scored more, but Shunin denied two shots from Spertsyan and Cordoba. Finally, Dynamo managed to hold an exemplary attack: Tyukavin received the ball inside the penalty area, passed it to Smolov who struck exactly into the left top corner.
Marcel Licka tried to add freshness to the team's actions by releasing Vyacheslav Grulev, Yaroslav Gladyshev, Daniil Lesovoy and Luka Gagnidze. But it was obvious that both sides were tired, and there were practically no great chances in the end. Dynamo can take revenge against Krasnodar on August 9, when the teams will play again at VTB Arena as part of the Fonbet Russian Cup group stage.
The White-Blues will start their Cup campaign on upcoming Tuesday, July 25, against Pari Nizhny Novgorod on the road.