We ourselves drove the Russian clubs. Now they are afraid of Club Brugge, Rennes and Salzburg

The performance of Russian clubs last season turned out to be so disastrous that two points for three in the opening round already look good. In Eurospring-2019/20, exactly zero RPL teams were selected, so many expected a similar number this season.

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There were a lot of reasons for this performance: mostly experts and fans were shooting punching about the limit, the low level of the league and zero footballers. But they forget about themselves: the level of criticism is off scale and negatively affects the already crushed players. The first round of the Champions League is a bold confirmation.

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Uefa champions league

Soboslai’s masterpiece and Lisakovich’s debut ball. All goals of Lokomotiv and Salzburg

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5 HOURS AGO

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Nobody believed in Lokomotiv at all: after the toss, Muscovites were humiliated by Bavaria with Atlético and almost a repetition of the eternal 1:18. The RPL silver medalist looked like an outsider even when paired with Salzburg, which made it to the group for the second time in 25 years. Of course, Red Bull brought up Holanna and Minamino, but why should you be afraid of a team where there are no more superstars?

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Salzburg – Lokomotiv

Фото: Getty Images

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Lokomotiv was poked by RB’s dominance in the Bundesliga (7 titles in a row), brisk statistics (35 goals in eight games this season) and last year’s shootout with Liverpool. The railroad workers were depicted as humiliating in Austria, but in reality the “reds” scored after: a) a stray cannon in the nine; b) a strike with two ricochets. Of course, the hosts have accumulated a few more chances, but Ufa and Tambov also have them in the RPL.

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The young Austrians didn’t show anything inspirational: Loko defended well against Kulikov and Zhivoglyadov, at times bite in the attack with Zhemaletdinov and Lisakovich. Sometimes everything seemed like a banal fear on the part of the railway workers – it was felt that the image of “Salzburg” appeared brighter than it really was.

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Zenit’s match turned out to be even more revealing. The St. Petersburg superclub looked like an obvious favorite even without covid at Club Brugge, but the pressure nailed the Russian champion. It is foolish to deny that the first goal of the Belgians (the most important goal in the match) turned out to be accidental: Barrios’s kick was an insulting bad luck. After him, the blue-white-blue woke up, pressed the opponent, scored once and could add. What prevented Dennis from frying to the ball? Psychology – this was confirmed by Sergey Semak:

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“There was not enough sharpness in the attack. Emotionally insured themselves to a conceded ball. After that, they started taking more risks and creating chances. Our attacking line looked unconvincing until the ball was conceded. “

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Zenit – Club Brugge

Фото: Getty Images

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Zenit was madly afraid to make a mistake in the home game against the starless club from Belgium. Because I understood that the invested millions and conspiracy theories around the drawing of lots would give a super reason to neigh after any failure. Players enter the field not thinking about how to win, but wanting to at least not screw up. Zenit’s case proved it: when the Petersburgers made a mistake, they finally got into the attack.

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Krasnodar is a little easier: there are a minimum of scandals and a maximum of a pleasant reputation in Sergey Galitsky’s club. The club is laughed at for diverging from the stated philosophy, but the bulls still look sincere. All the more strange were the talks about the death of Krasnodar in Rennes: the black-and-greens were buried in a match against a team with a zero background.

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Firstly, the “red-blacks” sensationally became the third only thanks to the coronavirus: it is not a fact that they would have crawled to the top three if the championship continued. Secondly, for them it was the same debut in the Champions League as for Krasnodar. But the draw of the “bulls” for some reason is perceived as a miracle.

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We are constantly waiting for a reason from Russian clubs to joke on Twitter, remember ambitious quotes or criticize for the limit / money / players. And we are driving them into the framework of our own expectations, and playing under pressure is incredibly difficult, especially in European competitions. Where we need to get high, we are afraid and suffer. And the news about Lokomotiv’s victory over Salzburg will get fewer clicks than quotes in the style of Konstantin Zyryanov “we just fucked up”.