“They showed the best version of Baltika”: Rubin with Artiga got revenge for Rakhimov

Rubin needed revenge

The away match against Baltika was important for Rubin, not least as an opportunity to get revenge for the 0:3 rout in Kazan. That game essentially became a point of no return for Rashid Rakhimov, marking the beginning of the countdown to the Kazan head coach's dismissal. The moment for retaliation was opportune. Kaliningrad had not won any of their last five matches, while Rubin under Frank Artiga had not lost any of their previous eight.

That autumn defeat to Baltika occurred without defender Igor Vujačić. The Rubin captain was also set to miss the return leg in Kaliningrad. The defensive leader received his fourth yellow card in the previous round against CSKA, earning a one-match suspension. Yegor Teslenko took his place in central defense. In total, Rubin's starting lineup featured six defenders — Artiga deployed Ilya Rozhkov on the left wing of the attack.

Baltika's lineup changes were due to injuries. Head coach Andrey Talalaev is experiencing serious problems selecting players for matches. Due to injuries, the team had previously lost starting goalkeeper Maxim Borisko and one of the championship's top scorers, Brian Hily. For the match against Rubin, captain Aleksandr Filin, who suffered a torn cruciate ligament, joined them on the sidelines.

Despite the difficulties, the Baltic side continued to fight for championship medals. Before the 28th round, the Kaliningrad team occupied fifth place in the table, three points behind the “bronze” positions. Rubin, meanwhile, is playing out the season without a clear goal, having secured seventh place.

An even match remained with Rubin

The first 10 minutes of the meeting were somewhat chaotic. Both teams had decent approaches to goal, but only Baltika managed something worthwhile. Within the first 25 seconds, Chinonso Offor could have scored from the centre of the penalty area — the ball went over. Rubin gradually seized the initiative, although they continued to play on counterattacks. The Kazan side's quick vertical transitions allowed them to push the game away from their own zone.

The result of this approach was a goal. It started with an unfortunate deflection from Eldar Čivič, who nearly scored an own goal. From the resulting corner, Nazmi Gripshi crossed to the near post, where Daku arrived and headed the ball into the net — 0:1. Celebrating the goal, Mirinda lost a game of rock-paper-scissors to Oleg Ivanov, running to the team's bench.

Thereafter, a measured game ensued, with Baltika holding a slight initiative. However, the hosts were unable to create anything significant before the break. At the start of the second half, Talalaev made two substitutions: Ivan Belikov and Nikolai Titkov came on for Maxim Petrov and Andrei Mendel. The substitutes refreshed Baltika's attacks, although nothing fundamentally changed.

Rubin confidently controlled the course of the match, despite spending more time in their own half. Even when defending, Kazan forced the opponent to nervousness, leading them to simplify their play excessively.

In the 74th minute, Daku scored a second, but from such an obvious offside position that the Baltika goalkeeper did not even react to the Albanian's run towards his goal. In the next attack, Ruslan Bezrukov found himself in an absolutely identical breakaway. But with a completely different outcome. Čivič stopped the Rubin winger with a last-resort foul from behind. The referee did not hesitate to show a red card, leaving Baltika with ten men.

The sending-off episode also resulted in an injury to Daku, who, incidentally, was playing with the captain's armband. The Albanian was injured in some play and left the field on a stretcher. Effectively, the match could have ended there. Baltika desperately tried to equalise, Rubin diligently protected their lead, and the score ultimately remained minimal. 0:1 — victory for the Kazan team.

The debt was repaid

After the match, Baltika coach Talalaev compared Rubin to his own team, saying they won just as Baltika had in Kazan. Artiga agreed with his counterpart, baiting him by saying they “played their style better than they did.” Thus, the Spaniard repaid the debt to Baltika on Rakhimov's behalf.

— Playing against Baltika, you need to give 100 percent. We showed maximum intensity, maximum tenacity. The guys put in a flawless match in terms of tackling, for which I want to praise them. Perhaps we even showed a better version of Baltika than the Kaliningrad side themselves. That allowed us to win, — Artiga told Match TV.

At the same time, Rubin showed nothing new; a well-established system is still not felt. As long as they get results, this is not a problem for Artiga. In the spring segment, not including the February match against Dynamo Makhachkala, the team is leading the championship with five wins and four draws. Rubin's unbeaten streak in the RPL has now stretched to nine consecutive games. The last time such a thing happened in the club's history was in the 2018/19 season.

It is precisely that Rubin from the era of Kurban Berdyaev's second coming that the current team under Artiga resembles. At the start of that season, Kazan did not lose for 11 consecutive games (including the championship and Russian Cup); the current streak stands at nine. Not only the results, but also the style is repeating. Today's gameplay is far from an understanding; much is done either on the foundation of the previous coach (Rakhimov) or impromptu. A stable pattern is absent from Artiga's Rubin.

Nevertheless, it seems everyone is satisfied. The result is good; the situation is ideal for reports. If only they could move up one place in the table — it would be perfect. There are two rounds left to do so. Victories over Spartak (May 11) and Pari Nizhny Novgorod (May 17), combined with defeats for CSKA and Baltika, could lift Kazan to fifth or sixth place. If only they don't repeat the second half of Berdyaev's Rubin season next year. After all, that Berdyaev-led team finished the championship in 11th place.