Rakhimov was fired for this: Rubin barely beats the RPL's main underdog

The match could have been canceled

Rubin's away game against Sochi took place against the backdrop of a major enemy drone attack the day before. On Sunday, air raid sirens sounded five times in the Krasnodar Territory and in Sochi itself, with a “Drone Danger” regime in effect. Consequently, almost all flights to the local airport were delayed, including those from Kazan. Some club officials and media representatives were expected to fly from the capital of Tatarstan to the game on their day off. However, the flight was rescheduled for Monday, and they did not make it for the start of the match.

In the morning, information emerged that the match might be canceled altogether. Not because of the military situation, but due to a possible delay for the referee. The flight carrying referee Nikita Novikov landed in Astrakhan, and he risked not making it to the game. Meanwhile, his assistants arrived without incident, so everyone was waiting only for the head referee. For Novikov, who had previously only worked as a reserve official in the championship, this match was his debut in the Russian Premier League. In the end, he made it in time and led the teams onto the pitch himself.

There remained a risk of the match being stopped during play. There have already been cases where sporting events in Sochi were interrupted due to attacks on the city. However, the game took place in a comfortable environment, and nothing prevented watching the football from start to finish.

Besides the drone attack problems, Rubin was concerned about Mirinda Daku's readiness to take the field. Kazan's top scorer had missed all four previous matches in the spring part of the season due to injury. This time, the Albanian was on the roster, but summer signing Denil Maldonaldo was absent even from the substitutes for unknown reasons.

Rubin stopped playing after scoring

The football on the pitch was not of the best quality. The first 15–20 minutes were spent by both teams getting used to each other. Then Rubin capitalized on a momentary weakness from Sochi and opened the scoring. In the 18th minute, Anderson Arroyo collided in the center of the field with defender Kirill Zaika, and the latter suffered a nose injury. While the medical staff tended to the Russian player, Kazan organized a goal through his zone. Ignacio Saavedra found Arroyo with a long ball, who passed into the center, where Ruslan Bezrukov slammed the ball into the net — 0:1 in favor of Kazan.

Immediately after, Sochi could have equalized. Daler Kuzyaev fell asleep with the ball near the penalty area, was dispossessed by Maxim Mukhin, who shot from a dangerous distance, but Evgeny Staver saved with his foot. The hosts then had a couple more decent episodes that ended poorly.

Rubin's activity ended there. It seemed only until halftime, but it lasted until the end of the match. One got the impression that Frank Artiga simply hadn't figured out how his team would play in attack. The starting attacking trio of Bezrukov — Khoja — Gripshi was copied from the winning game against Lokomotiv. However, Lokomotiv had played from the position of favorite, while in Sochi, Kazan was facing the league's main underdog.

Nothing changed even after forwards Jacques Sive and Mirinda Daku came on. The Albanian's appearance was the only bright spot for Rubin, aside from Staver's performance. Kazan's goalkeeper saved shots from dangerous positions at least twice. The most memorable save was when he kicked away Zaika's shot from two meters out, reaching back over his head.

Sochi, for their part, could without a twinge of conscience say they were unlucky. In the middle of the second half, twice in one attack, Sochi hit the woodwork. First, Mukhin hit the post, and then Zakhar Fedorov, from the goal line, couldn't tap the rebound into the empty net, hitting the crossbar. There was also a moment when the referees disallowed a goal by Alexander Kovalenko for offside. Sochi completely controlled the flow of the game and dominated the entire second half, but Rubin took the three points home.

“Has Rubin become so sad, or did Sochi play well?”

In the Match TV studio after the game in Sochi, former Fakel coach Dmitry Pyatibratov spoke eloquently. He asked in astonishment: did Sochi play so well, or is Rubin so weak? The expert found no answer.

— Where was this Sochi before? Or has Rubin become so sad? Although we were told that Artiga came to build a passing game. And now two such tough matches in a row: against Krylia Sovetov and now against Sochi. This doesn't align with what was declared to us, — Pyatibratov said on Match TV.

It's hard to disagree with the expert. The game was incredibly surprising. Expectations for Rubin's performance differed from what was seen on the pitch. Aside from Bezrukov's freshness during the goal and Staver's saves, nothing else comes to mind. Nazmi Gripshi completely vanished, and Kuzyaev didn't look ready. This is the second round in a row, as the same happened in Samara against Krylia Sovetov.

Rubin lacked players hungry for football in Sochi. Why Artiga didn't give a chance to Daniil Kuznetsov and Nikita Vasilyev is unclear. Nor is it clear why two other young talents, Daniil Motorin and Enri Mukba, weren't even on the roster. If not in matches against underdogs, when else should local academy graduates be given playing time? To be fair, Rubin has been playing out the championship for a while, and the match against Sochi meant nothing. But even in this situation, Artiga is essentially ignoring the youth.

Rakhimov was fired in January for such an attitude towards young academy players and for the terrible quality of football. Results are keeping the Spaniard in his job for now. Under Artiga, Rubin has not lost for four consecutive matches. But there is no joy in such victories over the worst teams.

Sochi — Rubin (Kazan) — 0:1 (0:1, 0:0)
Goal:
0:1 — 20', Bezrukov (Arroyo).

Rubin's next match will be on April 11 in Kazan against Orenburg at 4:30 PM Moscow time. After two consecutive lackluster games, a resounding victory will be expected from Kazan. Losing is not an option for Kazan, as their opponent is another team from the bottom of the table, coached by Tatar coach Ildar Akhmetzyanov.