Smolov's goal brought Lokomotiv the victory over CSKA
Before the game against CSKA Lokomotiv lost Grzegorz Krychowiak, who received the fourth yellow card in the game against Tambov. In addition, Vitali Lisakovich was not part of the squad due to minor injury. Kulikov started the game along with Magkeev in centre of the field, while Eder and Smolov formed a partnership in attack. Zhemaletdinov, Kamano and Rybchinskiy were all left on the bench. One of the noticeable changes to the starting line up was Vlad Ignatjev, who played as a left midfielder and eventually became the Man of the Match.
September 27 - International Day of the Deaf. Millions of people around the world face this problem, including our fans Alexander Demchenko and Kubanych Adishov. They are the ones who helped us name the starting line up for the game.
Corluka and Akinfeev came on the pitch with special shirts, which had the names of the teams written in sign language. After the match those shirts went to a charity auction, and the proceeds will go to the Equal Opportunities Fund for disabled people.
27 matches in a row Lokomotiv and CSKA scored at least one goal in the derby. However, the way the teams played in the first half hinted that the streak would end today. The teams fought for the ball and territory, put a lot of effort in defending, but often forgot about the goal.
CSKA had the first shot in the game - Zainutdinov picked up the rebound near the edge of the box, but his shot went near the post. Lokomotiv responded 20 minutes later. Quick counter attack, Smolov received the ball, dribbled past Karpov and shot over the crossbar from 35 meters.
Lokomotiv dominated the rest of the half. Smolov put the most effort to open the score line. Fedya made another attempt to score in the 40th minute - he tried to curl the ball into the far corner, but the it went inches wide. And four minutes later he achieved his target. Ignatjev picked up the rebound inside the penalty area and shot - Akinfeev was forced to make a save. Miranchuk was the first on the ball and made a smart pass to Smolov, who finished his chance from a close range - 1:0.
In the second half, the game opened up. It looked like Lokomotiv created almost more chances in the second half than in the entire season. In the 50th minute, Lokomotiv should have scored the second goal - after a great cross from a corner, Corluka shot from a close range, but it was saved by Akinfeev. Eder was the first one on the rebound, but his shot was too weak and didn’t go in. Two minutes later, Smolov ran away on a counter attack, dribbled past Karpov and shot from outside the box - the ball hit the post.
CSKA responded with powerful shots from Schennikov, Ejuke and Vlasic, but Guilherme put a lot of effort to preserve his 4th clean sheet in a row. Our goalkeeper was extremely reliable in this game.
CSKA's chances to score an equaliser faded away in the 60th minute. Bistrovic, received a second yellow card and left the the field - CSKA was down to ten men.
After that Lokomotiv took the ball under control and could have scored a few more goals to avoid a nervy ending. Nevertheless, Akinfeev saved his team twice after shots from Ignatjev, and Smolov hit the crossbar.
CSKA could have scored an equaliser in the 85th minute. Schennikov opened up for a pass in the penalty area, received the ball and passed it to the far post, but Chalov couldn’t convert the chance.
At the end of the game, Lokomotiv had a few more counter attacks - Kamano could have scored twice, but Francois lacked composure.
Lokomotiv got the win in the derby and moved up to sixth place in the league table.
TINKOFF Russian Premier League. Gameweek 9
CSKA - Lokomotiv- 0:1 (0:1)
Goals: Smolov, 44
CSKA: Akinfeev, Schennikov (Gaich, 87), Fernandes, Magnusson, Karpov, Kuchaev (Tiknizyan, 77), Oblyakov, Bistrovic, Vlasic, Zaynutdinov (Chalov, 66), Ejuke (Sigurdsson, 77)
Lokomotiv: Guilherme, Zhivoglyadov, Corluka, Murilo, Rybus, Magkeev, Kulikov, Ignatjev, Miranchuk (Kamano, 79), Smolov (Rybchinskiy, 89), Eder
Bookings: Bistrovic, 9. Eder, 70. Guilherme, 85
Sending off: Bistrovic, 60
Referee: Mikhail Vilkov (Nizhny Novgorod)
September 27, 2020. Moscow, VEB Arena.
