The encounter of the Mir Russian Premier League 26th round, which was held at VTB Arena, ended in a 1:0 win for the White-Blues.
Roberto Fernandez returned to the squad as a centre-back for the championship match against the current leader. Nicholas Marichal shifted to the right wing of defense, while Dmitry Skopintsev cemented the left-back position. There was only one change in the attacking group – Bitello was replaced by Nicolas Ngamaleu in the starting eleven.
Konstantin Tyukavin was the most prominent player in the first minutes. The top scorer of the White-Blues accelerated past two Zenit defenders, having received a timely pass from Daniil Fomin, and only a desperate tackle by Nino saved the visitors. Next, Kostya rolled the ball to the penalty line, from where Luis Chavez shot over the crossbar. Dynamo's period of activity ended with a long-range strike by Jorge Carrascal, which was denied by Mikhail Kerzhakov in the bottom corner.
The threat at our goal arose from the set piece – Claudinho crossed to the center of the penalty box, the ball bounced to Mateo Cassierra, and Anton Shunin made a spectacular save, stopping the RPL top scorer's attempt. Both sides spent the next half hour in a tactical struggle – the visitors organized positional attacks, but Dynamo footballers did not leave them free zones. So, apart from a few corners, Zenit could not get anything out of their ball possession.
In counterattacks, the White-Blues relied on the dribbling of Carrascal, Ngamaleu and Dmitry Skopintsev, who made several effective runs, but it never came to shots. By the end of the half, Ngamaleu benefited from a defender's mistake and found Chavez inside the penalty area. However, the Mexican international didn't shoot in one touch, after which the ball was cleared away from him.
The second half started in much the same way as the first. The Muscovites showed more activity in the first few minutes and then again let the visitors take the initiative, without allowing them to create anything dangerous near their goal. In the 61st minute, Skopintsev made an excellent run, beating three opponents – unfortunately, his right-footed shot went wide.
For the last 25 minutes of the match, Bitello came on the pitch, replacing Chavez. Immediately the hosts delivered a quick attack, finishing it with a dangerous cross into the penalty box, which Zenit centre-back barely managed to intercept. In the next offensive, Ngamaleu got the ball on the opponent's half of the pitch and assisted on Carrascal timely, whose long-range shot was denied by Kerzhakov.
Finally, in the 76th minute, the long-awaited goal happened. Carrascal delivered a stunning cross into the penalty area, Fabian Balbuena won the aerial duel and nodded the ball down to Tyukavin, who sent it into the net.
In the remaining time, Dynamo players protected their lead very confidently and several times broke out on sharp counterattacks, but, as in the Cup home fixture, they settled for a 1:0 win, which became the third over Zenit this season!
Dynamo collected 47 points and continued to hold third place in the league table, staying behind Zenit by 3 points.
In the next match, the White-Blues will face Spartak at home in the Fonbet Russian Cup Regions' Path semifinal. The derby will be held on Wednesday, May 1st. Buy tickets to this game on our website.
