Before the Sunday matches of the Russian Championship, the current champion is behind both “Dynamo” and “Krasnodar”. Because both of its competitors were able to win on Saturday
Last steps are always the hardest. And although the fate of the “gold” is in the hands of “Dynamo” (meaning win and you don’t even have to look at what the pursuers are doing), it is extremely difficult to take three points in such a tense situation from a demotivated opponent. The result of 4-1 is how the white and blue defeated “Krylia Sovetov” on Saturday – not exactly playing well. In the first half, the opponents exchanged goals, and in the second half, Lady Luck smiled upon the hosts of the VTB Arena. Marcel Lichka’s team is struggling to bear the burden of responsibility – jokingly: half a century, the great club has not been a champion, so anyone here would feel the pressure. But still, they manage. The comment of the head coach of “Dynamo”:
“Krasnodar” is not in a rush to drop out of the “gold” race. Five hours after Dynamo’s victory, the “bulls” snatched a victory in Sochi – 3:2. They squandered many opportunities, hit the crossbar and post several times, were losing 1-2 until the 85th minute, and then scored the decisive goal in injury time. Some kind of karma. As soon as Vladimir Ivich was fired, everything fell apart for Kuban. But the chance for the “gold” remains. And to grasp it, on May 25th, they will have to play against the white and blue for a win. And wait for Zenit to make a mistake. The Zenit team will compete with “Akhmat” in Grozny on Sunday evening. Ironically, the current champion has almost lost its efficiency. It’s not showing the same football it displayed in autumn, as noted by TV commentator Gennady Orlov on Match Premier:
Interestingly, “Lokomotiv” is also contending for medals – not for the championship, but still. On Saturday, the “railroad workers” won at home against FC Fakel from Voronezh – 2:0 (double by Suleymanov) and closely approached the top three leaders.
Before the matches on May 19 and 20, the top of the table looks as follows: “Dynamo” – 56 points, “Krasnodar” – 53. Zenit” – 51, “Lokomotiv” – 50. 46 points for “Spartak”, 42 and sixth position – for CSKA. The relegation zone (lower six): “Pari NN”, “Ural”, “Fakel” and “Orenburg” – 29 points each, “Baltika” – 26. “Sochi” – 23. The Black Sea team has officially lost all chances of salvation.