Akinfeev's heir is the best player, and Rubin lacked freshness

CSKA without Akinfeev

Rubin approached the match against CSKA with some pleasing statistics. Kazan have been successfully navigating the spring segment of the championship, not losing a single game in their last seven league matches. During the week, Frank Artiga's team won away against Dynamo (1:0) and closed in on sixth place, occupied by CSKA, who were six points ahead. A win over the Muscovites would have allowed Rubin to seriously reckon with fighting for higher positions. Moreover, Rubin have never lost to CSKA in Kazan since August 2018.

The Kazan head coach spoke about the intention to improve the team's standing in the table at an open training session on Thursday. It is important for Artiga to move up at least one spot to surpass the result of his predecessor, Rashid Rakhimov. Last season, the team finished seventh, the same position they held after the first half of the current championship in winter.

The strong desire to beat CSKA was also evident from the lineup. For the first time, Artiga fielded two out-and-out strikers in the starting formation. Mirinda Daku and Jacques Sive appeared in the frontline attack. The first is the team's top scorer, the second scored the winning goal against Dynamo in the previous round. Consequently, the coach had to forgo wingers. Ruslan Bezrukov remained on the bench, and Nazmi Gripshi played closer to the central midfielders, Nacho Saavedra and Veldin Hodža.

CSKA were again without Igor Akinfeev. The legendary army goalkeeper is missing the team's recent matches due to injury. Vladislav Torop predictably started in his place, ultimately becoming the game's best player. The visitors also lacked defender Matvey Lukin and right winger Kirill Glebov in their squad.

CSKA shot from distance, Rubin played on counterattacks

CSKA immediately took control of the ball, passing it around for long periods. Rubin played on counterattacks, and the first nearly ended in a goal. As early as the fifth minute, Daku sent Veldin Hodža through one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but Torop prevented the danger. Next, Ilya Rozhkov broke through on the left flank, but his cross lacked precision. Then Daku fell in the penalty area during a corner — the referee remained silent.

CSKA had fewer dangerous approaches to the opponent's penalty area. Only three long-range shots stand out, all comfortably handled by Evgeny Staver. Negative for Rubin were two yellow cards received by central defenders Igor Vujačić and Nikita Lobov. This limited their defensive actions, preventing them from playing tougher in certain situations. Be that as it may, the first half ended goalless.

At halftime, Artiga substituted Lobov for Denil Maldonaldo. The Honduran almost immediately missed a golden opportunity to score; his close-range shot was saved by Torop.

— It was a coaching decision. If the coach decided so, he did it right. Perhaps it was because I had a yellow card. I don't rule out that version of the substitution, — Lobov said in a conversation with a Realnoe Vremya correspondent.

The next such chance had to wait until stoppage time. First, visitors' defenders twice cleared the ball off the line after shots from Hodža and Nacho Saavedra. Then Staver made a point-blank save from Danila Kozlov after a breakaway. Ultimately, the referee recorded a well-deserved draw, with neither team doing enough to secure a win.

“Lacked freshness”

In the mixed zone after the match, players from both teams said they lacked just a little for a winning goal. No one was satisfied with the result. Frank Artiga said the same at the press conference. The Spaniard also mentioned a conversation with top management — the bosses also expected three points against CSKA. The coach considered this approach from management a positive sign, indicating the club is on the right track.

It wasn't possible to talk to Jacques Sive or Mirinda Daku. But there were questions to ask. The forwards started together for the first time, and throughout the game, it felt like they simply got in each other's way. They constantly overlapped on the pitch, went for long balls the same way, and tried to get on the end of crosses similarly. Artiga provided an explanation: he fielded two forwards because Daku (who missed the Dynamo game) was fresh and was supposed to complement Sive, who had tired during the week. It didn't work out.

Overall, Rubin's game was again divided into two parts. In the first, Kazan ran, created chances. In the second, the players tired and couldn't push for the win.

— While we had the energy, we created many dangerous chances to score and win. Objectively speaking, the last 15 minutRubin (Kazan) — CSKA — 0:0 (0:0, 0:0)es were not our best due to the tight schedule. Despite that, we had opportunities to score. It's a great pity we couldn't delight our fans, — Artiga said.

Rubin (Kazan) — CSKA — 0:0 (0:0, 0:0)

Rubin's next match will be on May 2 in Kaliningrad against Baltika at 4:30 PM Moscow time. Only three rounds remain until the end of the championship. Catching up to sixth position will be incredibly difficult. A six-point gap is almost impossible to close.