Rubin's win over Dynamo matters more than it seems: for coach, club, and CSKA fight

A Robin Hood emerged in the RPL

Under Frank Artiga's coaching staff, Rubin has turned into the main Robin Hood of the Russian Premier League (RPL). The Kazan team beats the giants of Russian football and gives points to weak opponents. This spring, Rubin played seven matches, in which they beat Krasnodar (2:1) and Lokomotiv (3:0) from the championship's top 3. At the same time, they lost to Dynamo Makhachkala (1:2) and drew with Krylia Sovetov (0:0), Orenburg (0:0), and Akron (1:1) from the bottom of the table. Only the victory over Sochi (1:0), who occupy last place in the RPL, stands apart.

Rubin's next opponent, Dynamo Moscow, could be classified in both categories. In terms of squad and financial resources, the “white-blues” are undoubtedly a leading club in the country. In terms of performance, however, there are questions. The quality of football from Dynamo players has been frankly lacking in most matches this season.

True, by the second head-to-head match of the current championship, both teams had the same number of points — 35 each. Moreover, Dynamo was ahead of Rubin in the standings on tiebreakers, occupying seventh place. In the first round, the opponents played out a goalless draw in Kazan. Experts expected something similar in the upcoming match in Moscow.

Furthermore, Rubin hadn't beaten Dynamo away since 2020. Especially since Kazan had to do without their top scorer Mirinda Daku and defender Yegor Teslenko, suspended for yellow card accumulation. They were replaced in the lineup by Jacques Sive and Nikita Lobov. Dardan Shabanhaxhaj, who performed well in the previous round, was also missing.

The start belonged to Rubin

The first ten minutes of the meeting were rich with chances. Kazan started the game actively and had three decent shots in the first 5 minutes. First, Ilya Rozhkov shot from the edge of the six-yard box — over. Then Nikita Lobov redirected a cross from a corner, and Veldin Hodža was just wide with his follow-up. The visitors' third shot was spectacular: Ruslan Bezrukov crossed, Sive attempted a scissor kick but missed the target. All this ended with Yaroslav Gladyshev breaking through one-on-one, but his shot went centimetres past the post.

Then Dynamo seized the initiative. The hosts held the advantage for a long time, depriving Kazan of possession. However, Rubin had no intention of playing positional football, trying to break away on counterattacks whenever possible. Eventually, at the end of the second ten-minute period, the visitors opened the scoring. Nazmi Gripshi, from the centre of the field, found Jacques Sive with a long ball, and he beat the goalkeeper in two touches — 0:1.

The teams ended the half hour with mutual series of dangerous shots. Dynamo shot three times towards Evgeny Staver's goal, but none found the target. For Rubin, Hodža could have scored from distance — the goalkeeper saved — as could Lobov after another corner kick. In total, the opponents managed 13 shots in the first 30 minutes.

Overall, Rubin could chalk up the start of the match as a positive. Before the goal, the visitors looked much sharper than the opponent. And after taking the lead, Kazan fully switched to counter-attacks, effectively “drying up” Dynamo's attacks. First and foremost, Rubin's defenders gave Konstantin Tyukavin nothing. The Muscovites' top scorer had no chance to score.

The best second half under Artiga

After the break, the nature of the match changed slightly. Dynamo continued to have more possession, but the hosts couldn't extract any benefit. Only a couple of half-chances were worth recalling. Otherwise, Kazan's defense calmly held its shape.

Rubin, however, produced their best second half under Frank Artiga's guidance. Everything worked for Kazan. From the very first minutes after the break, the visitors went on the attack. Usually, when holding a comfortable score, the Kazan team rarely pushes forward, instead trying to preserve the win.

Twice, Dynamo defender David Ricardo pulled the ball out of an empty net. Daniil Kuznetsov ran clear one-on-one, only to be stopped by the opposing goalkeeper. And overall, Rubin was constantly focused on playing in the Moscow team's half.

Needless to say, instead of a fierce siege on Kazan's penalty area, the only memorable moment from the end of the match was the injury to Dynamo's photographer? The Moscow team representative was working precisely at the spot where the ball landed after a clumsy shot by Tyukavin. The ball hit the camera, which then rebounded into the employee's face, knocking him out.
Rubin's doctors quickly arrived to help the photographer. No one offered to help the home team's players against Kazan.

The results will speak for themselves

The victory was immensely important for Rubin. Whatever you might say about Artiga, you cannot deny his ability to win effectively and at the right moment. The win over Dynamo was just that. Rubin earned their 1000th victory in Russian championships. It is pleasing that this milestone was reached in Moscow, once the most important city for the Kazan team. Under Kurban Berdyev, beating Muscovites, especially away, was considered almost a sacred duty.

Furthermore, with this victory, Rubin closed in on 6th place. Back in January, even just last week, this position in the table seemed unattainable for Kazan. And that spot is occupied by Moscow CSKA, whom Rubin will face next Saturday in Kazan.

This victory is also important for Artiga himself. Under the Spaniard, Rubin has not lost for seven consecutive matches. Frank constantly talks about the importance of results, often ignoring the beauty and quality of the football played. But draws against outsiders cannot be counted as assets. The same cannot be said about the success against Dynamo. In Kazan, victories over Moscow are still loved and cherished.

— What needs to be changed? That's not a question for me. My task is to analyze the squad I work with, to constantly add to and improve our actions as a team. We haven't yet achieved the picture I would like to see. I don't like to talk about such topics. There is a process, but it must be accompanied by results and wins. When I first arrived, the team had a bad streak. We corrected the dynamic, won four out of five matches, and started scoring. My task is to concentrate on the work. The results will speak for themselves, — Artiga said on Match TV.

Dynamo (Moscow) — Rubin (Kazan) — 0:1 (0:1, 0:0)
Goal: 0:1 — 19', Sive (Gripshi).

Rubin's next match is on April 25 in Kazan against Moscow CSKA at 7:30 PM Moscow time. Meanwhile, Kazan remain the “sanitary workers” of the RPL, beating strong teams and giving points to outsiders. Artiga would be wise to maintain this trend, as the team has three games ahead against opponents from the top half of the table.