InStat RPL team of matchday 23

Here is the RPL team of the week based on InStat data for matchday 23, which was dedicated to thanking doctors and medical workers.

Goalkeeper: Andrey Lunev (Zenit St. Petersburg)
InStat Index: 318

Lunev kept his ninth clean sheet of the season – the second-highest among RPL keepers this campaign – and made a key save at 2–0, when he kept out Fedor Chalov’s finish.

Left-back: Miroslav Bogosavac (Akhmat Grozny)
InStat Index: 307

The Serb’s active support play – all four passes into the penalty area were accurate – led to a goal by Denis Glushakov, after which Akhmat took the lead against Krylia Sovetov Samara and eventually won.

Right-back: Vladislav Ignatyev (Lokomotiv Moscow)
InStat Index: 364

Lokomotiv is the second team not to concede this round, and Ignatiev played a significant role in this. The full-back lost one single defensive challenge out of 14 and made four successful ball recoveries out of four.

Centre-back: Branislav Ivanović (Zenit St. Petersburg)
InStat Index: 391

The Blue-White-Sky Blues captain not only scored a quick, decisive goal at the VEB Arena, but also won all his individual challenges against CSKA players in their own and other half of the field.

Centre-back: Vedran Corluka (Lokomotiv Moscow)
InStat Index: 332

Lokomotiv’s Croatian defender was not as successful in attack as Ivanovic, but he also didn’t allow Orenburg to score and did not back down to his opponents in the fight; out of 15 challenges, he lost only two.

Defensive midfielder: Daniil Fomin (FC Ufa)
InStat Index: 355

In his debut RPL season, the 23-year-old has missed only one matchday and after the break confirmed his importance for Vadim Evseev. He scored against Tambov from the penalty spot and assisted Nikolai Giorgobiani in added time.

Left midfield: Elmir Nabiullin (FC Sochi)
InStat Index: 406

Although Nabiullin did not directly participate in any of the 10 goals against Rostov, among colleagues in his position he was the most active. He struck three shots on goal and played 40 accurate passes out of 54 attempted.

Right midfield: Odise Roshi (Akhmat Grozny)
InStat Index: 356

At the Samara Arena, Akhmat's top scorer did not trouble the scoresheet itself, as in the previous three games this year, but his pass led to the decisive goal of Bernard Berisha.

Attacking midfield: Aleksandr Kokorin (FC Sochi)
InStat Index: 468

The on-loan forward hit six shots at 17-year-old Denis Popov’s goal and scored his second hat-trick in the RPL. The first was also in a match with FC Rostov in August 2014, when Kokorin played for Dynamo Moscow.

Forward: Anton Zabolotniy (FC Sochi)
InStat Index: 457

In 60 minutes of play, Kokorin's teammate had seven shots, and scored twice for the first time in the RPL. He would have registered the first hat-trick of his career had his penalty not been brilliantly saved.

Forward: Vladimir Ilyin (Akhmat Grozny)
InStat Index: 387

Ilyin was the most aggressive forward of the matchday. He had nine shots on goal, scored twice and participated in 32 individual challenges, winning 12 of them.