Snow has already begun to hit parts of Russia this weekend causing the postponement of the Premier League game between Amkar and Dynamo. It was in Yekaterinburg where, unluckily for Spartak Moscow, the snow was cleared from the pitch and they succumbed to a team who were only picking up just their second win of the season, forcing the pressure upon Spartak boss Murat Yakin.
With no European qualification matches to contend with at the start of the season as a result of their lowly 6th place finish last season, Spartak started well under summer appointment Yakin, winning 4 out of their first 5 games. But Spartak have quickly reverted back into what has become the norm over recent seasons with below par performances restricting the club’s overall progress. Despite a respectable 0-0 draw away to Zenit, Spartak’s form reads 1 win in 5 games, including 2-0 defeats away to both Amkar and Saturday’s game against Ural. It all means that Yakin and his side sit 7th, 9 points off leaders Zenit after 10 games and just 2 points above crisis club of the month Lokomotiv.
10,000 brave folk withstood the sub-zero temperatures and saw Ural go 1-0 up from Edgar Manucharyan’s freekick just after half an hour. The 5’9 stand in full back, Pavel Yakovlev, somehow ended up marking 6’3 Aleksandr Erokhin who easily rose higher and headed past the stranded Artem Rebrov in the Spartak goal. In the second half, Alexander Stavpets beat the Spartak offside trap but could only hit his shot against the post before the home side doubled their lead through another set piece with around 25 minutes to play. This time, a corner from Yaroshenko met the head of Pablo Fontanello after more poor marking, the Argentinean could barely miss from 6 yards.
Spartak’s best effort came via a deflected shot after some nice build up play which tells the story of their afternoon. Spaniard Jurado the man to try his luck from 30 yards out, the ball striking Ural defender Ottesen only to meet the outstretched hand of Zabolotnyi who tipped it wide. Yakin didn’t criticise his team’s attitude but did lament Spartak’s “wrong decisions” and inability to find the “right solution to complete our attacks.”
As ex-manager Unai Emery sits in second place in La Liga with his Sevilla side, it’s current Spartak manager Murat Yakin who may have been dreaming of warmer climates as he trudged through the snow to make the 1500 km journey back to Moscow without even seeing his side score a goal. It’s those wrong decisions that have plagued Spartak for the past half a decade, perhaps another isn’t far off.
Elsewhere:
CSKA reaffirmed their title intentions with a 6-0 thrashing of Kuban in Moscow. A result made more impressive because of Kuban’s defensive record this season, with the result doubling their total goals conceded for the season. Ahmed Musa got his second brace in as many games after netting twice for Nigeria last week. Seydou Doumbia also scored twice to take his tally to 7 for the season.
Meanwhile in Krasnodar, torrential rain left a soggy but relieved AVB after his Zenit side slipped up with a 2-2 draw to Everton’s recent opponents, though Zenit still maintain their unbeaten record. They found themselves 2-0 down within 20 minutes, Pavel Mamaev with Krasnodar’s second after a Danny Welbeck-esque backheel in the area.
Time was on Zenit’s side, however. Javi Garcia and Hulk both scored either side of half time to almost justify their price tags. One man who didn’t prove his worth though was Ezequiel Garay who brought down Laborde on the edge of the area and was justly given his marching orders.
Arsenal Tula doubled their points tally with a 1-1 home draw to managerless Rostov. The away side have conceded 30 goals in just 10 league games this season in a complete reversal of fortune for the cup holders.
Results: Amkar PSTP Dynamo, CSKA 6-0 Kuban, Krasnodar 2-2 Zenit, Lokomotiv 2-1 Terek, Ural 2-0 Spartak, Arsenal Tula 1-1 Rostov, Ufa 1-1 Torpedo and Rubin 5-0 Mordovia.
Midweek:
CSKA v Man City (Tue)
Bayer Leverkusen v Zenit (Wed)
Krasnodar v Wolfsburg (Thur)
Estoril v Dynamo (Thur)
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