The "Rubin" series without defeats has ended: Karsedo and his "Spartak" upset Artiga.

      Kazan residents are very good in spring, but Muscovites play in the spirit of champions

      Photo: taken from the website rubin-kazan.ru

      "Rubin" lost to "Spartak" in Moscow with a score of 1:2 in the match of the 29th round of the RPL. Due to the defeat, Kazan residents will definitely not rise above seventh place in the championship table. Details of the match and Frank Artiaga's reaction to the results of the match against "Spartak" can be found in the material of "Real Time".

      "Rubin" hoped to fight for sixth place in the RPL, but "Spartak" has its own ambitions for bronze.

      The match between "Rubin" and "Spartak" was one of the last in the 29th round, timed to coincide with Victory Day. The mood among the Kazan residents was optimistic before the match. Frank Artiaga's team wanted to compete with CSKA for the sixth spot in the table in the final games of the championship. However, the "army" match against "Pari NN" ended just 10 minutes before the start of the "Rubin" and "Spartak" match with a score of 2:1 in favor of the Muscovites.

      It cannot be said that this significantly undermined the Kazan residents' prospects of grabbing sixth place, but for Artiaga's team, things could have turned out much better if CSKA had drawn or even lost in Nizhny Novgorod. After the first half, "Pari NN" was leading 1:0 thanks to a goal from Daniil Lesovoy.

      However, Frank Artiaga has long fulfilled his task with "Rubin" for the spring part of the season. It was not only about maintaining seventh place in the standings. The Spanish specialist managed to transform the football of the Kazan club. It became more varied, tactically flexible, compared to the times of Rashid Rakhimov. In spring, new names like Nazmi Gripshi and Nacho Saavedra fully revealed themselves in "Rubin". Denil Maldonado can also be added here, as the Honduran completely missed the autumn part of the season due to injury. And the Kazan residents also got rid of "Daku dependence." Without the Albanian in the squad, the loudest victories of "Rubin" in spring were achieved — against "Lokomotiv" and "Krasnodar."

      taken from the website rubin-kazan.ru

      Yesterday's match of "Spartak" was formal on one hand. The "red-whites" have their main match of the season ahead, on May 24 at "Luzhniki," in the final of the Russian Cup against "Krasnodar." The Muscovites ended their championship struggle back in late autumn. There was no pressure on "Rubin" regarding the potentially won sixth place. It would have been a nice bonus for Frank Artiaga, no more.

      On the other hand, it would have been nice for "Rubin" to displace CSKA, considering the gap between the teams at the beginning of December last year. And "Spartak" is still not against joining the RPL bronze. However, after the day before yesterday's victory of "Lokomotiv" over "Baltika," it will be very difficult for the "red-whites" to hope for third place.

      "The red-whites" transformed beyond recognition with the arrival of Carcedo as head coach.

      "Spartak," winning with a minimal advantage over "Rubin" (2:1), nevertheless confirmed its status as one of the strongest teams in spring in the RPL and simultaneously interrupted the long series of Kazan residents without defeats (9 matches). Juan Carlos Carcedo managed to balance the main squad and fill the team with aggression and enthusiasm, which converted into a terrifying force combined with the skills of bright legionnaires.

      taken from the website rubin-kazan.ru

      It should be noted that the Spanish specialist is not afraid of completely bold decisions. Not everyone would dare to leave Gedson Fernandes on the bench, as the Portuguese is a big star by the standards of our championship, and he was bought last summer from "Besiktas" for 25 million euros. But Carcedo did it and did not regret it! "Spartak" acted brilliantly in the first half. The trio of Solari — Barco — Marquinhos repeatedly caused huge problems for "Rubin's" defense.

      The fact that the "red-whites" scored only one goal in the first half was due to poor finishing and pure misunderstanding. Marquinhos missed a one-on-one chance (the Kazan goalkeeper Evgeny Staver played well), and from a favorable position, Manfred Ugalde headed the ball straight into the hands of the Kazan goalkeeper.

      "Rubin" responded with attacks, but noticeably less often. Apart from a shot from Yegor Teslenko after a cross from Dmitry Kabutov from dangerous goal episodes, there is not much to remember. By the way, the Russian appeared on the field not from the first minutes, but as a result of Anderson Arroyo's injury. During a contact with Roman Zobnin, the Colombian got injured, and it is still unknown how critical it is.

      taken from the website rubin-kazan.ru

      Interestingly, for the first time this season, "Rubin" had both flanks of defense covered by two reserves — Kabutov and Ruslan Bezrukov. Fans have not seen such a duo for a long time. But it happened out of necessity: Kabutov came on after a teammate's injury, and Ilya Rozhkov could not help the team due to suspension.

      In the second half, "Rubin" added, but had enough strength for only one beautiful goal.

      The joyful mood from the striking first half was supposed to carry over to the "Spartak" players in the next academic hour. But "Rubin" could easily equalize the score in the 51st minute. In a quick counterattack, according to all football laws, Nazmi Gripshi should have passed to the open Velidin Hodzha on the right, but for some reason, the Albanian decided to feint past "Spartak" defender Vu. As a result, Gripshi's shot was blocked, and Hodzha stood empty-handed with his arms raised. And he can be understood, as he was in a free position, and if the Albanian had passed to him, Alexander Maximenkov in goal would have been powerless.

      taken from the website rubin-kazan.ru

      By a cruel twist of fate, "Spartak" strengthened its advantage 10 minutes later. A well-executed positional attack by the "red-whites" led to a magnificent combination organized by Marquinhos, Ugalde, and Solari. The latter finished the ball into the empty net from a few meters.

      "Rubin" looked decent in the second half. And by general impressions, the final 45 minutes turned out to be much better than the first. And the goal of Aleksandar Yukić in stoppage time was simply stunning. Daku fought for an aerial ball, passed to Bogdan Yochich, and the latter found the rushing Yukić with an excellent cross. The Austrian shot through Maximenkov in one touch.

      Emotionally, this goal was very important for Yukić. Yesterday's match was the first for the midfielder in 2026. In general, the player had not played for "Rubin" since September 2025. Yukić took a long time to recover from a torn cruciate ligament, slowly regained form, and just recently earned the trust of Frank Artiaga. "Rubin" still hopes that Yukić can reach the level he demonstrated in "Sochi" two years ago.

      Artiaga highly appreciated the class of "Spartak," but also thanked the "Rubin" players with warm words for the match.

      At the press conference, Frank Artiaga mainly praised "Spartak." And this is not surprising, as he and Carcedo are long-time good acquaintances.

      — I really like how "Spartak" plays. This is modern football, and "Spartak" is not tied to a structure. The team plays in hybrid schemes. The starting point of the team is football, playing with the ball. This is modern, advanced football — this is how outstanding European teams play. We all understood this and prepared for this match. But to neutralize all these qualities of the opponent, we needed to show much more, — said Artiaga.

      And of course, the Spaniard did not forget about his team.

      — I am grateful to the guys for all their dedication and the magnificent segment they had, — as if he had already summed up the final results of the season, Frank Artiaga said.

      taken from the website rubin-kazan.ru

      But "Rubin" has one last home match this season in the RPL. On May 17, the Kazan club will meet with "Pari NN" and will try to end a very busy football year on a high note.

      Evgeny Romanov

      More news about the event:

      "We went out with some fear." Artiaga — about the defeat to "Spartak" and the fight for 6th place

      The head coach of "Rubin," Frank Artiaga,