The Bulls Beat FC Spartak Moscow!
FC Krasnodar 2-1 (2-1) FC Spartak Moscow
Goals: Berg (Suleymanov), 3 (1-0), Petrov (Ari), 20 (2-0), Larsson (Mirzov), 45 (2-1).
FC Krasnodar: Safonov, Ramírez, Spajić, Martynovich, Petrov, Kambolov (Kaio, 46), Olsson, Stotsky (Skopintsev, 70), Ari, Suleymanov, Berg (Utkin, 81).
FC Spartak Moscow: Rebrov, Mirzov, Dzhikiya, Kutepov, Rasskazov, Yeshchenko, Umyarov, Král, Ananidze (Til, 69), Larsson (Ponce, 81), Melgarejo (Glushenkov, 90).
Yellow cards: Olsson, 64 (unsporting behaviour), Ramírez, 67 (attack breakdown), Kaio, 70 (attack breakdown), Ari, 85 (foul play) – Mirzov, 33 (unsporting behaviour), Kutepov, 90 (attack breakdown), Dzhikiya, 90+4 (unsporting behaviour).
Red cards: Kaio, 85 (2nd yellow card, foul play) – Dzhikiya, 90+4 (2nd yellow card, unsporting behaviour).
Referees: Meshkov (Dmitrov), Usachev, Bereznev (both Rostov-on-Don).
6 October 2019. Krasnodar. FC Krasnodar Stadium. Rain. 14 degrees. 32238 spectators.
The game with FC Spartak began for the Bulls in the best way possible. As early as on the 3rd minute Marcus Berg converted a serve by Suleymanov from a corner kick into a scored goal. The Swede had been left unchecked at the second pole, so he shot the ball undeterred into the top corner with his second touch.
The Red-Whites seized back the initiative for a few minutes, but it turned out into new troubles for them. Berg and Ari launched a near-perfect counterattack that was not absolutely perfect due to an inaccurate finishing shot of the Swedish striker. On the 20th minute the Spartak defense ignored their right flank, and that allowed Ari to roll the ball to Sergei Petrov who then fired it into the second corner of the net. 2-0!
FC Krasnodar launched a few more prospective attacks before the half-time, but technical mistakes on behalf of the black-greens at crucial moment prevented them from exploiting openings in the defensive ranks of the visitors. With one minute remaining to the interval Jordan Larsson met a ball flicked by Mirzov and shortened the gap.
Scoring chances were less abundant in the second half, but the ending suddenly came out very hot. Kaio and Dzhikiya were both sent off pitch for their second yellow cards, but it did not prevent FC Krasnodar from holding on to a win. The Bulls scored their first win over FC Spartak Moscow in the official games since 2015, and now they went on October FIFA break among the four teams sharing the leadership in the RPL standings. Twenty six points after twelve matchdays is a record-breaking schedule for the black-greens during their all-time Russian Premier League career.
