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Over the weekend, the remaining six matches of the 23rd round of the Russian Premier League were played. They saw some unexpected results. "CSKA" lost two points in Perm, "Spartak" failed to beat the outsider "Torpedo", "Moskva" was crushed at home by "Rubin", and "Lokomotiv" suffered a painful defeat for the second time in a row in St. Petersburg against "Zenit". "CSKA" visited Perm, where they recently defeated London's "Arsenal" in the Champions League at home and probably expected an easier match than what actually happened. With a new coach in front of them, the defense of "Amkar" practically did not let anything through, and the players of this team did not hesitate to attack. The same happened in the recent match. "Amkar" played actively and constantly felt the pressure near the "CSKA" goal. However, in the first half, "Amkar" did not create any dangerous chances, while "CSKA" had two excellent opportunities through D. Carvalho and I. Olic, which the champions did not capitalize on. At the start of the second half, "Amkar" finally created a dangerous opportunity when A. Paramonov aimed for the far corner with a penalty kick, but I. Akinfeev caught the ball. "CSKA" coach V. Gazzaev realized that playing like this could lead to defeat, so he changed the tactical scheme, which helped achieve victory against London's "Arsenal". Despite their efforts, "CSKA" could not take three points from "Amkar". The match ended in a 0-0 draw, making it harder for the "army men" to compete for the title. In the next Saturday match, Ramenskoye's "Saturn" faced Rostov's "Rostov". Shortly after the start, "Rostov" striker I. Caniende tried to score against "Saturn", but that was the only time "Rostov" managed to do something. Quickly, "Saturn" took the initiative, but nothing significant happened in the first half. The second half started more interestingly. "Saturn" pressed "Rostov", who hoped for counterattacks to do something useful. E. Cesnauskis had a great opportunity to score, but he failed to score when he was one-on-one with the goalkeeper. It seemed inevitable to score, but the scoreboard remained unchanged, and the teams shared a point with a 2-1 victory for "Saturn". The series of Sunday matches started in Tomsk, where the local "Tom" faced Samara's "Krylia Sovetov". Snow fell in Tomsk, and the teams had to start the match in almost winter conditions. The hosts were more active, but the first goal was scored by the guests. A. Bobior broke through the "Tom" defense on the right and sent the ball into the goal cold-bloodedly from a sharp angle. After the conceded goal, "Tom" continued to act as hosts- they calmly made passes and did not rush anywhere. There was one more dangerous opportunity in the first half, but the structure of the Samara club saved them. The second half started with a penalty kick towards the goal of "Krylia Sovetov", which was successfully converted by P. Pogrebnyak. Two minutes later, P. Pogrebnyak scored his second goal, putting his team in the lead. Midway through the second half, the guests managed to create a dangerous opportunity, but the "Tom" goalkeeper saved the day. The hosts controlled the ball more in the remaining part of the match and won 2-1. In Moscow, Kazan's "Rubin" simply crushed "Moskva", who unexpectedly defeated Moscow's "Lokomotiv" in the previous round. Everything started in the fourth minute, when M. Sibaya directed the ball into the "Moskva" goal with a header. Three minutes later, a penalty was awarded towards the "Moskva" goal, which was perfectly converted by A. Dominguez. The hosts struggled to create dangerous chances, and the ball rarely ended up in the "Rubin" goalkeeper's hands. Former "Moskva" graduate A. Ryazantsev was unsure of what to do with the ball before finding A. Dominguez, who scored his second goal. After seven minutes, another penalty was awarded towards the "Moskva" goal, this time successfully converted by O. Kalisto. In the second half, nothing changed. "Moskva" could not do anything, and after O. Kalisto's breakthrough on the left wing for his "hat-trick", A. Dominguez solidified his lead. The result remained unchanged in the rest of the match, although "Rubin" could have scored more goals. They won with a crushing score of 0-5. In St. Petersburg, "Zenit" faced the newly led Moscow "Lokomotiv". The start of the match saw a few half-chances for both teams. However, in the 18th minute, the goals began. Near the "Lokomotiv" goal, the hosts earned a corner, and "Zenit" defender from Norway E. Hagen beautifully headed the ball into the net. After the goal, "Zenit" retreated slightly and another burst of activity occurred towards the end of the first half. "Lokomotiv" tried to organize a counterattack but failed, and A. Arshavin doubled the lead with a precise shot. In the second half, "Lokomotiv" tried a bit harder, but in the 67th minute they conceded another goal. At the end of the half, the teams exchanged goals, with the result finishing at 4-1 in favor of "Zenit", while "Lokomotiv" suffered their second consecutive loss. In the last round match, Moscow's "Torpedo", fighting for survival, faced Moscow's "Spartak", who had a different task. In the first half, "Spartak" dominated, but could not benefit from it. In the second half, "Spartak" increased the pace, but no one could score against "Torpedo". Eventually, "Spartak" managed to break through the "Torpedo" defense, with D. Boyarintsev sending the ball into the penalty area and R. Pavlyuchenko heading the ball into the hosts' net. After the conceded goal, "Torpedo" reacted and started playing more actively, but they were unsuccessful, while "Spartak" could have scored another goal. Nonetheless, "Torpedo" saved the day when S. Budylin missed a shot, but the ball flew into the "Spartak" goal with a strange trajectory. The match ended with a 1-1 draw, and the teams shared a point. 23rd round statistics: "CSKA" 0 - 0 "Amkar" D. Semberas ("CSKA") played the entire match. "Saturn" 2 - 1 "Rostov" 7’ [0 - 1] Anton Bobior 50’ [1 - 1] Pavel Pogrebnyak (penalty) 52’ [2 - 1] Pavel Pogrebnyak A. Skerla ("Tom") played from the 72nd minute onwards, while E. Raziulis ("Krylia Sovetov") was registered for the match but did not appear on the field. "Rubin" 0 - 5 "Moskva" 4’ [0 - 1] Macbeth Sibaya 7’ [0 - 2] Alejandro Dominguez 32’ [0 - 3] Alejandro Dominguez 39’ [0 - 4] Orlando Kalisto 53’ [0 - 5] Alejandro Dominguez "Zenit" 4 - 1 "Lokomotiv" 17’ [1 - 0] Erik Hagen 45’ [2 - 0] Andriy Arshavin 67’ [3 - 0] Igor Denisov 89’ [3 - 1] Garry O’Connor 90’ [4 - 1] Aleksandr Spivak E. Majus ("Zenit") was not registered for the match. "Spartak" 1 - 1 "Torpedo" 61’ [0 - 1] Roman Pavlyuchenko 90’ [1 - 1] Sergiy Budylin I. Dedura ("Spartak") was not registered for the match. Table of the Tournament:
