"We didn't just press them a little, we pressed them hard": Rubin lost to Krasnodar, although they deserved points

      In the 13th round RPL match, Rubin lost to Krasnodar by a score of 0:1

      Rubin again failed to win in Krasnodar

      In the entire history of encounters between Rubin and Krasnodar, the Kazan club has never won in the south of Russia. Under Rashid Rakhimov, the Rubin players usually look respectable in matches in Krasnodar, but that does not translate into points. Yesterday Murad Musayev’s side once again emerged victorious, beating the visitors by a one-goal margin (1:0).

      On the 13th minute, Viktor Sa scored, not without a bit of luck. The Bulls’ attack down the left flank developed rapidly: Batchi burst into the penalty area and, while making a pass, hit the foot of Konstantin Nizhegorodov. The ball deflected off the Rubin defender awkwardly to Viktor Sa, who calmly outplayed Evgeny Staver in a close-range duel.

      In the second half Rubin put in a much more cohesive performance. Dangerous moments included a powerful shot from Ruslan Bezrukov, a free-kick from Dardan Shabanhadzhay that hit the crossbar, and Mirlin Daku also had some good half-chances to score.

      According to Rakhimov, speaking after the game, the Kazan club did not deserve to lose. Similar to last year’s match, Rubin pressured one of the RPL giants throughout the entire second half. But instead of at least a draw, Rashid Rakhimov’s players had to leave the Kuban capital empty-handed.

      Experimental defensive option with Lobov, Nizhegorodov and Gritsaenko

      Overall, the Kazan head coach demonstrated his willingness to take risks yesterday. In central defense Rakhimov fielded a trio of defenders he had never used before – Lobov, Gritsaenko and Nizhegorodov. The appearance of Aleksei in the starting lineup was particularly unexpected. Gritsaenko clearly failed the match against Baltika a week ago (0:3), for which he received a fair amount of public criticism. Nevertheless, yesterday the Kazan No. 27 played much better. In any case, he received no reprimand from the head coach.

      Nor did Nikita Lobov or Konstantin Nizhegorodov. The latter is gradually becoming a first-team player. Previously Rakhimov used Nizhegorodov exclusively in Russian Cup matches. But now Konstantin is getting more and more playing time, which of course he cannot but be pleased about.

      Krasnodar did not show the high level of play we have grown accustomed to expecting from the Bulls week after week. Musayev’s team has a deep bench, and in fact Krasnodar has two competitive squads, as clearly demonstrated in the Russian Cup, where the Southerners mostly field the reserves.

      But yesterday the hosts’ starting lineup showed lapses at times, which Rakhimov also noted.

      “We shouldn’t say that Krasnodar played at half strength against us. We forced them to experience difficulties. It’s even incorrect in the context of this game to say that we pressed them in the second half. We crushed them and could have hoped for points,” he emphasized after the match.

      Rubin faces a tough schedule in November

      By the end of the first round of the RPL championship, Rubin is searching for new combinations in the squad and trying to show different models of play. We have previously seen how Rashid Rakhimov uses Shabanhadzhay as a number 10. Yesterday against Krasnodar the Kazan side operated in a 5-4-1 formation, with Bezrukov and Shabanhadzhay playing as inside forwards. Things are not clear-cut in central midfield either. The coach gives a lot of playing time to Daler Kuzyaev, and Bogdan Yochich continues to start regularly. Veldin Hodzha, on the contrary, has recently become more of a rotation player.

      In November Rubin faces a difficult schedule. Next week in Kazan Rakhimov’s team will face Dynamo Moscow. After that come games against Pari NN, Zenit and Akhmat. The Kazan side risks dropping down the table if results are unsatisfactory. But the Rubin head coach is not afraid of difficulties, and according to him his players do not look hopeless in terms of their play.

      Photo: rubin-kazan.ru

      More news about the event:

      “We didn’t just press them, we crushed them”: Rubin lost to Krasnodar despite deserving points

      In the 13th round RPL match, Rubin lost to Krasnodar by a score of 0:1

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