The encounter of the Fonbet Russian Cup group stage 3rd round that was held at Tushino, ended in a 4:1 win for the hosts.
Marcel Licka traditionally used a massive rotation before the Cup game leaving only Dmitry Skopintsev, Daniil Fomin and Fedor Smolov in the starting eleven. Roberto Fernandez and Aleksandr Kutitsky formed an unusual centre-back duo, while Dynamo newcomers Luis Chavez and Jorge Carrascal remained on the bench.
The start of the match became a cold shower for the visitors. Firstly, Aleksandr Sobolev headed the ball into the right top corner benefiting from Daniil Denisov's cross. Then, Igor Leshchuk made two impressive saves denying Daniil Khlusevich's and Sobolev's efforts. However, he couldn't help, when Srdjan Babic hit the left top corner with his header – 2:0.
Dynamo players were unable to catch rhythm and their defense lacked solidity. In the 18th minute Spartak extended the lead. Anton Zinkovsky crossed from the left wing and Sobolev found the net for the second time.
In the middle of the first half Fedor Smolov tested his luck from distance but Aleksandr Maksimenko jumped to the right bottom corner and caught the ball. The visitors scored again in a fast counterattack. Zinkovsky ran one-on-one with Leshchuk and rolled the ball past the goalkeeper.
In the 27th minute it was time to make necessary changes for Dynamo. Nicholas Marichal and Nicolas Ngamaleu replaced for Kutitsky and Yaroslav Gladyshev. The White-Blues started pushing the opponent. Daniil Lesovoy hit the post with a curling strike from 10-meter distance.
After the break Dynamo coaching staff fielded two newcomers Chavez and Carrascal. The Mexican international came as a defensive midfielder, while the Colombian moved to the left wing.
Dynamo did their best in remaining time and were rewarded with a consolation goal. Ngamaleu got a pass from corner kick, outran Christopher Martins and netted a goal from a very sharp angle. Dmitry Skopintsev who played brightly, succeeded in dribbling and supported a lot of attacks. In one of occasions he crossed towards Ngamaleu who was blocked by Zinkovsky.
Dynamo put pressure on Spartak regularly but were far from penetrating the penalty area. As a result, our team couldn't score more. The White-Blues suffered the first big defeat under Licka, however, our team looked much better than the Spartak side in the second half.
After three rounds Dynamo collected four points and stay second in the table. In the upcoming match Marcel Licka's men will play against Rostov on the road in the RPL seventh round.