Beginning - at 17.00 Moscow time
Before the spring matches of the Russian Cup, it is appropriate to ask the participating teams - who needs this trophy more? The semi-final couples took shape this year in such a way that the question does not seem rhetorical. We will discuss the game between CSKA and Krasnodar later, but for now let's take a look at the match in Perm, where Amkar will host Zenit.
For the red-and-blacks, the Russian Cup semi-final is the most important match of the season - this is how the club's defender, a student from St. Petersburg, described it. More significant, apparently, can only be the final, which will be held in Kazan.
When Amkar climbed so high for the last time, he also faced Zenit in the semifinals. In 2010, the game at the same Zvezda stadium ended in a goalless draw in regulation time, and the guests were better in the penalty shootout, preparing for a quick winning double.
There were almost no participants in that meeting in the teams: Belorukov, and they will enter the field six years later. He could well have experienced déjà vu and Danny, but he just suffered a serious injury that left him without football for eight months.
However, everyone should remember the last game of the two teams now - 11 days ago they met in the Russian championship. Although Amkar recent times plays very well at home against the mighty of this world, it was not possible to cope with the guests from St. Petersburg. I had to fight more often than Alexander Selikhov, but the St. Petersburg goalkeeper came out the winner of this duel. scored the hundredth goal in his career, and - the first in Zenit.
A week later, Petrograd defeated at home (5: 2), and Amkar failed to beat Mordovia (1: 1). The blues, whites and blues are in great shape, but it might not be reasonable to spend it when the fight for the championship is on the nose.
The Permians are another matter - they have nothing to do but play in the Cup. The fact that the registration in the RFPL has not yet been finalized is not so scary - the wards are used to jumping on the bandwagon of the departing train.
Gazeta.Ru's forecast: Zenit will snatch victory with a difference of one goal only in extra time.
CSKA - Krasnodar. Beginning - at 19.30 Moscow time
Another match - and another recent semi-final. CSKA and Krasnodar met only two years ago in Khimki under circumstances very similar to the current ones. CSKA are in anticipation of the final spurt for gold medals, and the bulls are content with little and solve problems more modestly.
For Muscovites, then the defeat with a score of 0: 1 was not a tragedy - Wanderson scored a goal from the filing of the current midfielder of the red and blue. Leonid Slutsky's wards achieved the championship that season. And although Krasnodar showed the best result for themselves in the Cup of the country, they never made it to the trophy - Rostov interfered.
CSKA have not changed much since then - only Rasmus Elma da Seydou Doumbia is missing. And I had to seriously rebuild the team in order to maintain combat effectiveness. firmly stood in the "frame", in the center of the field formed a triangle of legionnaires from three continents, and instead of the Brazilian attack group, a purely Russian attack was formed, not inferior in efficiency.
Judge for yourself: in three last matches, who brought Krasnodar nine points in the Russian championship, scored six goals, made five assists and made an accurate shot himself, managed to score a debut goal. Who knows, if not for the injury in the match against Terek, the former player could have had even more beautiful statistics.
CSKA, however, find it difficult to boast of the latest successes. Let's take the match with Mordovia out of the brackets - the 7: 1 victory speaks more about the sadness of the Sarants than about the strength of the Muscovites. In the spring matches with direct competitors for medals, Leonid Slutsky's wards only beat Spartak to a minimum.
Krasnodar is an inconvenient rival for CSKA - the capital's last victory was dated October 2013.
If the semifinals of the Russian Cup were held in the south, the bulls could definitely be considered the favorite. But in April, the army team were not burdened with long-distance trips, and in Khimki they suffered only one defeat for the entire season.
Much in the match will depend on starting line-up, which will be chosen by Leonid Slutsky. Precisely on the field will not appear - the defender was injured in training. If the coach of the club and the Russian national team saves the rest of the leaders, then Krasnodar will have excellent chances to travel to Kazan. If not, then the finalist will be determined in an equal fight.
Gazeta.Ru forecast: Krasnodar will win 1: 2
You can get acquainted with other materials, news and statistics at the Russian football championship, as well as in the groups of the sports department on social networks
0: 1 (crossbar), Ogude - 1: 1, Dzyuba - 1: 1 (goalkeeper), Selikhov - 2: 1, Vitsel - 2: 2, Prudnikov - 3: 2, Krishito - 3: 3, Zaitsev - 3: 3 (goalkeeper), Garcia - 3: 4.
20 April. "Star" (Perm).After leaving the Champions League, “Zenith” sold out in earnest. In five consecutive matches of the Russian championship, the Petersburgers certainly won, and each time the final advantage of the Andre Villas-Boas team in the account was at least two goals. Such a series allowed the “blue-white-blue” to reduce the gap from the leader to two points.
Zenit pursues high goals in the Russian Cup, where the team went on a visit to Amkar in the semifinals. Permians know how to tune in to the cup matches, knocking out the Moscow “Lokomotiv” and “Dynamo” during the rally. So the charges of Andre Villas-Boas expected hard game without recalling the victory at the Zvezda stadium in the Premier League eleven days ago.
The main loss of “Amkar” was the absence of Bogdan Butko on the right flank of the defense. The Ukrainian defender, who is usually active in his position, was injured early last game Premier League against Mordovia and was replaced by Brian Idovu. In “Zenith” in the match against “Spartacus” Danny was injured, and the diagnosis shocked the player himself - a cruciate ligament rupture. The Portuguese midfielder is the European Championship and will be treated for up to nine months. The footballers of the St. Petersburg team decided to support their captain by going to the reporting game wearing T-shirts with the words "We are with you!"
Heavy rain in Perm could cause additional problems for goalkeepers, and even on artificial turf. Alexander Selikhov should have been especially worried, given the Hulk's ability to penetrate cunningly. Around the 13th minute, the Brazilian struck with a free kick from the bottom - the ball flew to the right of the frame, but the gate guard “Amkar” controlled everything. This was not the first time the Hulk was involved. Earlier, he made a dashing pass through someone else's penalty area and shot from the right, but he was not lucky to break through Selikhov from an acute angle. “Zenith” tried to build up the defense, and Oleg Shatov succeeded in a good head blow with a rebound from the lawn - the hosts' goalkeeper made a save!
And in the 19th minute, “Amkar” said his weighty word, who carried out an exemplary counterattack and took the lead. Haji Gadzhiev's wards quickly left the defense, Sergei Balanovich cut out an excellent accurate pass to the far post from the right flank, and Brian Idov outplayed Mikhail Kerzhakov in close combat! It is curious that the right-back was at the forefront of the Permian attack. “Zenith” rushed to the attack, wanting to level the score as soon as possible, but “Amkar” defended well and gave the favorite a real battle. Moreover, the owners themselves tried to counterattack at the first opportunity. Nevertheless, in the 41st minute of the game, Andre Villas-Boas's charges scored. Hulk on the right gave a great kick from a corner, and Xavi Garcia at the far post left Nikolai Zaitsev and sent the ball into the net with his head.
The stubborn game in Perm continued after the break. On the 55th minute, the first worthy moment happened when Alexander Prudnikov hit hard under the crossbar - Mikhail Kerzhakov made a save, although the goalkeeper was lucky that the ball flew not under the bar, but closer to the center of the frame. A little later, Pavel Komolov from the penalty area directed the ball into the far corner, and again the guardian of the Zenit gate showed himself with better side... “Amkar” continued to look preferable, and twenty minutes before the end of normal time, Haji Hajiyev's wards even scored a goal, but Alexander Prudnikov did it from an offside position.
In the 78th minute, already the Petersburgers were finally able to create a quality moment at the opponent's goal. The Hulk threw the ball to Xavi Garcia from the free-kick, he threw the game round at Axel Witsel, who hit his head dangerously under the crossbar - Alexander Selikhov made a save! Until the end of regular time, two units remained on the Zvezda stadium scoreboard, and the players had to spend two additional halves.
In extra-time the initiative was seized by “Zenith”, which resulted in a moment in the 96th minute. Hulk from the left flank made a serve, Artyom Dzyuba did not get to the ball, but Oleg Shatov struck his head - the ball flew close to the post, and the fans of “Amkar” exhaled! Haji Hajiyev's wards ended most of their attacks with flank serves, which did not conceal any severity. At the same time, the hosts at times dragged out time, apparently not averse to deciding the fate of a ticket to the finals in a penalty shootout. In the end, it came down to the “lottery”, and Andre Villash-Boash released Yuri Lodygin to the goal, despite Kerzhakov's save after Jikia's free-kick kicked.
Sometimes we see penalty shootouts, where the players are precise shot for shot. But this is not the case. After three hits, the score in the series was 1: 1 - Hulk and Ogude distinguished themselves. Selikhov upset his colleague in line, and after that the players began to shoot better from eleven meters. After five attempts, the score was 3: 3, that is, now a miss could be expensive. Zaitsev could not beat Lodygin, and Xavi Garcia struck exactly - 3: 4. “Zenith” beat “Amkar” in a penalty shootout and became the first finalist of the Russian Cup. CSKA Moscow and “Krasnodar” in a few hours will determine the opponent of St. Petersburg.
Do not miss! Tournament table, statistics and news
Follow the results Russian football online: http://www.liveresult.ru/football/Russia
Alexey Antonenko
Perm "Amkar" on penalties lost to St. Petersburg "Zenith" in the semifinals of the Russian Cup season 2015/2016.
The hosts were the first to open the score in the 19th minute. Brian Idowu distinguished himself during an excellent counterattack, “Amkar”.
At the 41st Javi Garcia equalized after a pass from the corner Hulk hung on the far post.
The second half was dominated by the guests, the Permians sometimes counterattacked sharply, but none of the teams managed to score goals.
In overtime, the teams acted very carefully and there were practically no dangerous moments in 30 minutes.
The penalty shootout developed dramatically. Footballers “Amkar” did not score the first two blows and it seemed that everything was already clear, but the St. Petersburg team gave them hope. However, not for long.
Penalty shootout:
Peev missed the top corner from the penalty spot - the ball went near the post.
Hulk confidently realized his attempt, breaking through powerfully in the center. 0:1
Lodygin reacted to Shavaev's kick into the corner.
Garay struck the crossbar powerfully from the penalty spot.
Ogude spread the ball and the goalkeeper in different corners. 1:1
Dzyuba didn't score! Artyom shot slightly into the bottom corner - Selikhov reacted.
Selikhov from the “point” clearly shot into the corner - Lodygin guessed the direction of the blow, but failed to help the team out. 2:1
Witsel shot into the corner for execution - Selikhov did not reach the ball a little. 2:2
Prudnikov struck exactly in the lower right corner. 3:2
Krishito struck right in the center, and Selikhov, even before the strike, fell into the right corner. 3:3
Lodygin reacted to Zaitsev's kick into the corner.
Javi Garcia from the “point” struck exactly in the upper corner and brought “Zenith” to the final of the Russian Cup. 3:4
Amkar - Zenit 1: 1 (1: 1, 0: 0, 0: 0, 0: 0), on penalties - 3: 4
Goals: 1: 0 - 20 Idovu, 1: 1 - 42 Garcia.
Amkar: Selikhov, Belorukov, Zaitsev, Idovu, Zanev, Gol, Ogude, Balanovich, Komolov, Prudnikov, Anene.
Zenith: Kerzhakov, Smolnikov, Krishito, Garay, Neto, Garcia, Yusupov, Shatov, Vitzel, Kokorin, Hulk.
Penalty shootout: 1:0, 1:1, 2:1, 2:2, 3:2, 3:3, 3:4.
0: 1 (crossbar), Ogude - 1: 1, Dzyuba - 1: 1 (goalkeeper), Selikhov - 2: 1, Vitsel - 2: 2, Prudnikov - 3: 2, Krishito - 3: 3, Zaitsev - 3: 3 (goalkeeper), Garcia - 3: 4.
20 April. "Star" (Perm).After leaving the Champions League, “Zenith” sold out in earnest. In five consecutive matches of the Russian championship, the Petersburgers certainly won, and each time the final advantage of the Andre Villas-Boas team in the account was at least two goals. Such a series allowed the “blue-white-blue” to reduce the gap from the leader to two points.
Zenit pursues high goals in the Russian Cup, where the team went on a visit to Amkar in the semifinals. Permians know how to tune in to the cup matches, knocking out the Moscow “Lokomotiv” and “Dynamo” during the rally. So the charges of Andre Villas-Boas were expecting a tough game, not remembering the victory at the Zvezda stadium in the Premier League eleven days ago.
The main loss of “Amkar” was the absence of Bogdan Butko on the right flank of the defense. The Ukrainian defender, who is usually active in his position, was injured early in the last Premier League game against Mordovia and was replaced by Brian Idovu. In “Zenith” in the match against “Spartacus” Danny was injured, and the diagnosis shocked the player himself - a cruciate ligament rupture. The Portuguese midfielder is the European Championship and will be treated for up to nine months. The footballers of the St. Petersburg team decided to support their captain by going to the reporting game wearing T-shirts with the words "We are with you!"
Heavy rain in Perm could cause additional problems for goalkeepers, and even on artificial turf. Alexander Selikhov should have been especially worried, given the Hulk's ability to penetrate cunningly. Around the 13th minute, the Brazilian struck with a free kick from the bottom - the ball flew to the right of the frame, but the gate guard “Amkar” controlled everything. This was not the first time the Hulk was involved. Earlier, he made a dashing pass through someone else's penalty area and shot from the right, but he was not lucky to break through Selikhov from an acute angle. “Zenith” tried to build up the defense, and Oleg Shatov succeeded in a good head blow with a rebound from the lawn - the hosts' goalkeeper made a save!
And in the 19th minute, “Amkar” said his weighty word, who carried out an exemplary counterattack and took the lead. Haji Gadzhiev's wards quickly left the defense, Sergei Balanovich cut out an excellent accurate pass to the far post from the right flank, and Brian Idov outplayed Mikhail Kerzhakov in close combat! It is curious that the right-back was at the forefront of the Permian attack. “Zenith” rushed to the attack, wanting to level the score as soon as possible, but “Amkar” defended well and gave the favorite a real battle. Moreover, the owners themselves tried to counterattack at the first opportunity. Nevertheless, in the 41st minute of the game, Andre Villas-Boas's charges scored. Hulk on the right gave a great kick from a corner, and Xavi Garcia at the far post left Nikolai Zaitsev and sent the ball into the net with his head.
The stubborn game in Perm continued after the break. On the 55th minute, the first worthy moment happened when Alexander Prudnikov hit hard under the crossbar - Mikhail Kerzhakov made a save, although the goalkeeper was lucky that the ball flew not under the bar, but closer to the center of the frame. A little later Pavel Komolov from the penalty area directed the ball into the far corner, and again the guardian of Zenit's goal showed himself from the best side. “Amkar” continued to look preferable, and twenty minutes before the end of normal time, Haji Hajiyev's wards even scored a goal, but Alexander Prudnikov did it from an offside position.
In the 78th minute, already the Petersburgers were finally able to create a quality moment at the opponent's goal. The Hulk threw the ball to Xavi Garcia from the free-kick, he threw the game round at Axel Witsel, who hit his head dangerously under the crossbar - Alexander Selikhov made a save! Until the end of regular time, two units remained on the Zvezda stadium scoreboard, and the players had to spend two additional halves.
In extra-time the initiative was seized by “Zenith”, which resulted in a moment in the 96th minute. Hulk from the left flank made a serve, Artyom Dzyuba did not get to the ball, but Oleg Shatov struck his head - the ball flew close to the post, and the fans of “Amkar” exhaled! Haji Hajiyev's wards ended most of their attacks with flank serves, which did not conceal any severity. At the same time, the hosts at times dragged out time, apparently not averse to deciding the fate of a ticket to the finals in a penalty shootout. In the end, it came down to the “lottery”, and Andre Villash-Boash released Yuri Lodygin to the goal, despite Kerzhakov's save after Jikia's free-kick kicked.
Sometimes we see penalty shootouts, where the players are precise shot for shot. But this is not the case. After three hits, the score in the series was 1: 1 - Hulk and Ogude distinguished themselves. Selikhov upset his colleague in line, and after that the players began to shoot better from eleven meters. After five attempts, the score was 3: 3, that is, now a miss could be expensive. Zaitsev could not beat Lodygin, and Xavi Garcia struck exactly - 3: 4. “Zenith” beat “Amkar” in a penalty shootout and became the first finalist of the Russian Cup. CSKA Moscow and “Krasnodar” in a few hours will determine the opponent of St. Petersburg.
Do not miss! Tournament table, statistics and news
Follow the results of Russian football online: http://www.liveresult.ru/football/Russia
Alexey Antonenko
