Dynamo M – Krasnodar

Krasnodar will take the most important step toward defending the championship title.

Over the last month and a half, Krasnodar fans have had plenty to envy and plenty to sympathize with. On the one hand, their team is three matches away from the most significant achievement in its short history. If the Bulls win the two remaining league games, followed by a victory over Spartak in the Russian Cup final, they will for the first time become champions of both national tournaments in a single season. On the other hand, every match after the crushing win over Pari NN on March 21 this year has proven increasingly difficult for Krasnodar. In each of the eight subsequent matches over a month and a half, Murad Musaev's team literally clawed out victories or draws, often playing under the necessity to come from behind. In other words, the Bulls' fans in every game experience a thriller or football drama. Moscow Dynamo had lost substantial ambitions for anything serious in the Russian championship even before the winter break. The watchful gaze of the capital's team and its fans was fixed on the Russian Cup, where Dynamo was still two steps away from the first trophy since 1995 as of Wednesday. Having reached the final of the Russian Premier League Path, the Dynamo players drew Krasnodar as opponents and played a home match with them to a 0-0 draw. The Blue-Whites in April noticeably stopped paying attention to the Premier League, where in almost two months they managed to beat only Akron and Sochi. All hopes of Roland Gusev and his players were tied to the return leg. It can be safely said that the Dynamo coach managed to prepare his team well. On Thursday, on the field of the reigning Russian champion, they looked at least as good as their opponent. However, reaching the penalty shootout, Dynamo players faced two saves by Stanislav Agkacev and the ensuing collapse of hopes for a successful finish to the season. It would seem that now Gusev's team should avenge Krasnodar in the championship, taking points away from them and depriving them of first place. However, the crazy resolve of the visiting side to win, coupled with some emptiness among Dynamo players, is likely to lead to yet another traditionally heavy and tense victory for Musaev's charges.