Superb Sobolev solo strike sparks Spartak win

Spartak Moscow 3-0 Akhmat Grozny
Wednesday 15 July, Otkritie Arena

Goals: Spartak - Zobnin (51’), Sobolev (81’), Til (90+3’)

Man of the Match: Roman Zobnin (Spartak Moscow)

Aleksandr Sobolev’s wonderfully taken goal sealed an important win for Spartak Moscow in the race for a potential Europa League place. Roman Zobnin’s rocket had earlier given them the lead just after the break, before Guus Til completed the victory.

Just before the half-hour mark, Ilya Gaponov flicked on a corner to leave Ezequiel Ponce with a simple tap-in from a couple of yards out, but it was ruled out after a VAR review.

Zobnin made no mistake just after the break. With acres of space and a back-tracking defence, he let fly with a 25-yard rocket past Evgeny Gorodov.

Samuel Gigot beat three challenges before driving through the Akhmat half and releasing Sobolev to finish with a wonderful individual goal slaloming through the defence.

In added time Til stroked home a measured finished into the bottom corner from assist by Zobnin to end Spartak’s five-match winless run.

Spartak Moscow have a Russian Cup semi-final away to Zenit St. Petersburg next on 19 July, before they travel to take on Rubin Kazan on the final RPL matchday on Wednesday 22 July. On the same day Akhmat Grozny face FC Krasnodar away.

Spartak Moscow: Maksimenko, Gaponov, Gigot, Dzhikia, Maslov (Rasskazov 71’), Kral (Bakalyuk 89’), Zobnin, Bakaev (Til 71’), Ayrton (Mirzov 59’), Larsson (Sobolev 46’), Ponce

Akhmat Grozny: Gorodov, Nenakhov, Semenov, Nizic (Mbengue 83’), Bogosavac, Ismael, Shvets, Glushakov, Ivanov (Vizeu 61’), Berisha (Kharin 59’), Ilyin (Roshi 56’)