The key facts

  • CSKA beat Spartak 2:0 in the derby on October 25 at the VEB Arena: goals from Glebov on the 34th second and Musaev on the 24th minute.
  • Rinat Bilyaletdinov named Spartak's central zone and the lack of a quick player like Glebov as the main problem.
  • After the matchday, CSKA are second (25 points), Spartak fifth (23 points).

The derby ended in a CSKA victory

The Russian Premier League match between Moscow's CSKA and Spartak, held on October 25 at the VEB Arena, ended 2:0 in favor of the Army Men. Kirill Glebov opened the scoring just 34 seconds into the match, and on the 24th minute Tamerlan Musaev doubled the lead. The second half produced no goals for the spectators. This was reported by Gazeta.Ru.

Bilyaletdinov's assessment

Russian coach Rinat Bilyaletdinov, in a comment to a Gazeta.Ru correspondent, said that the match offered chances to both sides, but that he had expected a somewhat different result from the derby: “I expected a little more from this derby”. In his view, Spartak still has a long-standing problem in the central zone which, according to the specialist, “makes life difficult” for the team year after year under any coach. He also contrasted the teams on one point: CSKA have the quick Glebov, who receives the ball and runs forward, whereas Spartak have no such player — “that is how they play all over the world.” Bilyaletdinov also divided the goals into systemic and non-systemic ones.

Standings and upcoming matches

After the matchday, CSKA sit second in the Russian championship with 25 points, trailing the capital's Dynamo only on tiebreakers. Spartak are fifth with 23 points. In the next round on November 1, CSKA will play Orenburg (kick-off at 13:00 Moscow time), while Spartak will face Moscow's Lokomotiv the same day — that match starts at 19:45 Moscow time.

Context

The two-point gap between the teams means the derby defeat cost Spartak the chance to overtake CSKA in the table — with a win, the Red and Whites would have drawn level on points. The central-zone problem noted by Bilyaletdinov, in his own words, recurs at Spartak under any coach, which makes it systemic rather than tied to a particular specialist. Earlier, the media had already identified the main problem facing Spartak in the title race. Data limitation: the publication reflects the opinion of one expert and the result of a single match; the reaction of the clubs and coaching staffs to the game is not given in the cited source.