CSKA fall short of late Champions League charge despite comfortable win over Tambov

CSKA Moscow 2-0 FC Tambov
Wednesday 22 July, VEB Arena

Goals: CSKA - Schennikov (26’), Oblyakov (78’)
Man of the match: Nikola Vlasic (CSKA Moscow)
Sent off: Georgi Melkadze (FC Tambov, 45+1’)

Georgi Schennikov struck a spectacular volley before Ivan Oblyakov’s controlled effort put CSKA Moscow in control against 10-man FC Tambov. Georgi Melkadze had been sent off in first-half added time.

CSKA drew first blood in their battle for Champions League football when Alan Dzagoev and Fedor Chalov combined cleverly to engineer a half-chance for Schennikov. The defender then unleashed a spectacular volley over Giorgi Shelia for the opener.

The second was almost as impressive in its execution. Ivan Oblaykov chested an awkward ball outside the area with a little over quarter of an hour to go before hitting a controlled volley through a crowd of players to give CSKA breathing space.

CSKA Moscow end the 2019/20 RPL season in 4th place and qualify for the Europa League, while FC Tambov had already avoided a bottom-two finish.

CSKA Moscow: Akinfeev, Nababkin, Vasin, Diveev, Fernandes, Maradishvili (Bistrovic 65’), Oblyakov (Oblyakov 83’), Schennikov (Kuchaev 89’), Dzagoev (Shkurin 65’), Vlasic, Chalov (Tiknizyan 83’)

FC Tambov: Shelia, Gritsaenko, Oyewole, Filin, Rybin, Karasev (Kilin 79’), Ciuperca (Tetrashvili 74’), Shlyakov (Kaplienko 31’), Melkadze, Kostyukov (Kostyukov 79’), Kalmykov (Kabahidze 46’)