FC Krasnodar Changed the Tide of the Game but Lost to FC Spartak
FC Krasnodar 1-3 (0-2) FC Spartak Moscow
Goals: Ponce (Larsson), 13 (0-1), Moses (Ponce), 33 (0-2), Sabua (Vilhena), 58 (1-2), Larsson (Kokorin), 81 (1-3).
FC Krasnodar: Safonov, Chernov, Kaio, Martynovich, Smolnikov, Vilhena (Matsukatov, 86), Gazinsky, Spertsyan (Utkin, 46), Ramírez, Suleymanov (Sabua, 57), Ionov.
FC Spartak Moscow: Maksimenko, Dzhikiya (Gaponov, 73), Gigot, Maslov (Markitesov, 90+3), Ayrton, Moses (Yeshchenko, 68), Král, Zobnin, Z. Bakayev (Umyarov, 73), Larsson, Ponce (Kokorin, 67).
Yellow cards: Vilhena, 52, Martynovich, 63, Smolnikov, 74 – Dzhikiya, 47, Maslov, 65, Umyarov, 83.
Red card: Martynovich, 90+1.
Referees: Bezborodov (Saint Petersburg), Demeshko (Khimki), Mukhatarov (Petrozavodsk).
VAR: Levnikov (Saint Petersburg), Lunev (Novosibirsk).
24 October 2020. Krasnodar. FC Krasnodar Stadium. Clear. 14 degrees. 10 554 spectators.
Before the game vs. FC Spartak Moscow, due to various health problems, FC Krasnodar had lost a significant group of the first team players. The injuries of the leaders, however, did not prevent the Bulls from getting involved in an open type of football with the Red-Whites.
Both sides could have scored before half-time. A finishing shot by Smolnikov alone was enough to turn into an opener after Maksimenko’s blunder as he failed to capture the ball on the 27th minute. The Spartak goalie fixed his mistake though, and the team led by Domenico Tedesco then converted a couple of counterattacks into scored goals.
An opening goal was scored by Ezequiel Ponce who had pushed Chernov away beforehand. The referee team observed no foul in the episode. In another goal-scoring episode Ponce was an assistant to FC Spartak rookie Victor Moses who fired the ball into the far corner of the net from 6 meters.
After the interval, FC Krasnodar got hold of the initiative and launched a few classy combinations exploiting gaps in the visiting team’s defense. On the 58th minute Ramírez sped the attack up on the left flank and passed the ball to Vilhena on the far side of the box. A shot that the Dutch player took falling turned into an assist to FC Krasnodar Academy-trained Leon Sabua, who scored his first goal for the first team.
The Bulls made the score equal again soon after that, but the goal by Kaio was cancelled since the referees had observed Martynovich committing a foul in an aerial duel. In the time that remained the black-greens could have saved the game on numerous occasions. Of those attempts, a shot by Chernov and a save by Maksimenko were particularly noteworthy. Alas, ten minutes to full-time they conceded a goal by Jordan Larsson. As a result, even though in the course of the match the black-greens displayed some decent performance and actually changed the tide of the game after half-time, they lost to FC Spartak after all.
FC Krasnodar 1-3 FC Spartak Moscow
81 (15) Attacks (quick attacks) 84 (14)
15 Total shots 13
4 Blocked shots 2
5 Shots on goal 6
0 Woodwork hits 0
4 Scoring chances 7
96 Won duels 75
51% Ball possession 49%
390 (81%) Completed passes (accuracy) 349 (83%)
5 Corner kicks 5
3 Offsides 2
11 Fouls 20
