The final of the Russian Football Cup turned out to be the most spectacular - the overcrowded Luzhniki Stadium, where about 69 thousand fans gathered, could watch the Moscow derby: Spartak fought Dynamo on its centenary. And if the white-and-whites finished the season in the top three (although they lost devastatingly in the last round to their principal rival Sochi), then the football year for the red-and-whites was not the most successful: in the Russian Premier League, the team took tenth place. Even in winter, the fans had joy - Spartak reached the playoffs of the Europa League from the first place in the group and was preparing to fight Leipzig, which is headed by the ex-coach of the red and white Domenico Tedesco . However, the sanctions against Russian football deprive Spartak of the confrontation with the former mentor.
Winning the Cup of the country for Spartak would help smooth out the impression of a failure in the championship, and the team understood this - the score in the match with Dynamo was opened already in the 10th minute of the game. Alexander Sobolev sent the ball into the near corner of the goal with a shot from outside the penalty area, however, an offside position was initially fixed, and then for the first time in the match, the referees responsible for the video assistance system for referees (VAR) intervened. The goal was confirmed, and the striker celebrated his goal in a very touching way - under his T-shirt was a T-shirt with the inscription "Mom, this is all for you." Sobolev could not hold back his tears, dedicating the goal to his mother, who passed away in the summer of 2020. After the match, it was the forward who was recognized as the best player in this match.
Dynamo could recoup only ten minutes after the start of the second half. The team failed to develop an attack in the center, but Arsen Zakharyan took advantage of the ball's rebound to the penalty line and shot. Samuel Gigot , who plays the last match for Spartak, tried to block the kick, but the ball flew into the goal of Alexander Maksimenko with a rebound from his foot . Spartak pressed hard in the second half of the game, and this pressure paid off.
Already in stoppage time for the match, Dynamo got a chance to equalize and continue to fight. In his penalty area, Ruslan Litvinov hit the face of Roman Evgeniev with his elbow . The episode was analyzed for a long time - first, the judges at VAR, and then the chief referee Kirill Levnikov went to watch the replay himself, after which, at 90 + 5 minutes, he appointed a penalty against Maksimenko. Daniil Fomin approached the "point", but the football player could not cope with his nerves - the ball flew above the goal, and the final whistle sounded almost immediately.
Spartak won the first trophy since 2017 and the first Russian Cup since the 2002/03 season. The match ended with a beautiful performance - a crowded stadium, together with the singer MakSim and the red-and-white footballers, sang the song "Do You Know" - the unofficial anthem of the club.
Former Spartak and Dynamo midfielder Yuri Kovtun , in a commentary to Gazeta.Ru, noted that passions were heated in the match until the last minute, and the missed penalty was an incredible result for such a duel. Separately, the ex-midfielder noted that Luzhniki is the Spartak stadium, where his generation won many victories.
“There is an understanding that I played for both Spartak and Dynamo. With Spartak I won the Cup and three championships, with Dynamo I won the Cup. There were no sharp sympathies for one of the teams, but someone had to win.
Can the season be considered successful for Dynamo, despite the failed ending? You know, everyone has their own opinion. The management can adhere to one position, the fans - another. Yes, they had real chances to become champions and take the Cup, they aspired to this. I won’t say that there are questions about the work of the coaching staff, the championship was positive for them. Probably, the management will make some decision, but then they will think about new tasks. After such a good season, we need to move on, ”admitted Kovtun.
Dmitry Bulykin , who during his career played for Dynamo, congratulated Spartak on the trophy in the year of the centenary of the club, and also noted that the season went well for the blue and white, although there was an opportunity to compete in the championship race and win the Cup .
“Great impressions - the atmosphere, the stadium, and the intrigue. Unfortunately, Dynamo failed to realize the moment from the penalty spot. And so, it turned out a holiday for the fans. Dynamo did not have enough to finish the season either in the championship race, or in the silver, or in the Cup. You can congratulate Spartak: they took the trophy on the centenary of the club.
Will it be hard for Fomin after the missed penalty? I repeat very often that any statistics is interrupted at some point. Of course, it's a shame when this happens in such matches, but it happens - you have to go through it, move on and prepare for the next season," Bulykin shared his impressions with Gazeta.Ru.
Former player of the Russian national team Denis Boyarintsev , who on the eve achieved an important milestone in his coaching career and brought the Rodina football club to Olympus - the National Football League, admitted in a commentary to Gazeta.Ru that, in his opinion, from the Spartak training camp I did not improve much, however, in this match it was more organized and coherent, although it did not show enchanting football, but it deservedly won. Boyarintsev also noted the problems in the defense of Dynamo, which not only led to conceded goals today, but also prevented the team from imposing on Zenit the fight for the championship in the RPL.
“We won the trophy - great! With a good game, we won - we were stronger than Dynamo. It is always more difficult to create - in the first minutes, both teams destroyed attempts to attack. But Spartak was luckier, they had a good attack - Misha Ignatov opened well between the lines, Sobolev perfectly took a position between the players.
The beginning of the second half Dynamo, objectively, won, they began to take the initiative. But a great fast response attack followed, at good speeds, and Promes, of course, did a great job with the goalkeeper. At the end, the penalty was optional, but success was on the side of Spartak - they took the well-deserved trophy, ”said Boyarintsev.
Valery Gladilin in his career played for Spartak as a player, and was also in the team as a coach. He noted that the game was not easy, as expected, there was no entertainment, but the players imposed a lot of struggle on each other.
“The teams knew each other, and the coaches learned the manner of the opponents and the players. At the forefront came dedication, maximum composure and who better uses their moments. Not to say that the game was bright, but it was a real cup match with a large audience - it has not been such a long time that so many fans gathered for the Cup final.
Then there would be a series of 11-meter. But luck was on the side of Spartak. In the season as a whole, there were bright games, there were disastrous matches. It is very difficult to say that Spartak has shown in which direction it is moving. And it's hard to predict what will happen next. While "Spartak" wins due to emotions and luck, but there is no set game - that's why he took tenth place in the championship. But still Spartak fans deserved victory in the Cup. The players thanked them on the 100th anniversary of the club.