The encounter of the Mir Russian Premier League seventeenth round that was held at VTB Arena ended in a 2:1 win for the White-Blues.
Four Dynamo players could not take part in the Moscow derby. Roberto Fernandez and Mathias Normann were still recovering from injuries, while Diego Laxalt and Denis Makarov had got the fourth yellow card each. Dmitry Skopintsev took the left-back position. Vyacheslav Grulev shifted to the right wing.
The Armymen started the game well. Ivan Oblyakov found Fedor Chalov inside the box, but Saba Sazonov managed to kick the ball away. The visitors tried to threaten from numerous corners increasing the number of crosses to the penalty area.
Dynamo caught the trick and Nicolas Ngamaleu came to the forefront. The Cameroonian international who would join the national team on the eve of FIFA World Cup looked solid and had two chances to shine.
The main events of the first half happened within the last ten minutes. Firstly, Shunin palmed the ball away after Jorge Carrascal's curling strike. On the 40th minute, the White-Blues opened the score. Skopintsev interplayed nicely with Daniil Fomin, came one-on-one and shot over Igor Akinfeyev's hands.
Before the half-time whistle the hosts organized a bright counterattack, which was finished by Fedor Smolov. Unfortunately, the referee flagged for offside. Finally, Chalov got a chance for equalising, but couldn't beat brilliant Shunin.
After the interval Slavisa Jokanovic's men took the game under full control. And their advantage led to the second goal. Ngamaleu headed home after a nice left-footed cross from Eli Dasa – 2:0.
Two minutes later, the Armymen cut the lead. Oblyakov succeeded on rebound and struck into the left bottom corner. The hosts put out the CSKA pressure with two well-timed changes. Grulev and Smolov left for Yaroslav Gladyshev and Konstantin Tyukavin.
The White-Blues came close to extend the lead, when Skopintsev hit the post and Tyukavin earned a penalty in the next episode. However, Akinfeyev didn't let Fomin to build an absolute RPL penalty record making a confident save.
Both sides finished the match ten-men, because Vladislav Bezborodov showed two yellow cards in seven and six minutes to Oblyakov and Gladyshev respectively. The game became more open, but the goalkeepers stood firm and played perfectly.
Dynamo picked up 29 points and climbed to fourth before the winter break. In the next match the White-Blues will travel to Grozny for Russian Cup fifth round fixture against Akhmat on November 23.