Szymanski sparkles as Dynamo edge see-saw classic

Rubin Kazan 2-3 Dynamo Moscow
Sunday 28 November, AkBars Arena

Goals: Rubin - Bakaev 30', Dreyer (pen) 49'; Dynamo - Makarov 18', Balbuena 68', Szymanski 85'
Man of the Match: Sebastian Szymanski (Dynamo) 

Another thriller swung one way then the next in Kazan, as the lead changed hands three times before Sebastian Szymanski's late winner. 

As early as the third minute, Dynamo had the ball in the back of the net, but we're denied by a narrow VAR offside decision. They didn't have to wait long though, and the source of the opener was all too predictable. 

A poorly managed corner saw Dynamo suddenly race upfield with a three on three counter attack that saw ex-Rubin winger Denis Makarov faced with Anders Dreyer. A simple feint sent Dreyer sprawling the wrong way, before Makarov calmly stroked a cool finish past his former teammate Dyupin. 

Shortly after, Nikola Moro diverted a Fabián Balbuena volley onto the crossbar with a reaction header as Dynamo put their foot down. 

On the half hour mark, though, Rubin struck right back after their wingers combined beautifully. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia sold a simple but perfectly judged dummy to create a yard of space for a cross towards the far side, where Soltmurad Bakaev was lurking. Although the bounce was awkward, his chested control did enough to tee up a drilled volley back across goal into the bottom corner. 

Rubin started the second half with a bang, completing the turnaround from the penalty spot. Aleksandr Zuev was caught by Guillermo Varela's sliding challenge, leaving Dreyer to smash the spot kick down the middle. 

A quarter of an hour later and Dynamo were handed, quite literally, a chance to draw level again. Georgi Zotov had endured a torrid time, and his night took a further turn when his outstretched arm made contact with the ball. Nikola Moro stepped up, but skewed his spot kick wide. 

Balbuena redeemed him just a few moments later though, firing a bullet header past Yuri Dyupin from Sebastian Szymanski's teasing free kick - the Pole's sixth assist of the season, the most of any player so far this season. 

With the ascendancy once again, Dynamo pushed forward in the closing stages as both Kvaratskhelia and In Beom Hwang appeared to be suffering from exhaustion. Inside the last 10 minutes, Szymanski's corner was headed goalwards by Makarov, only for Filip Uremovic to head clear off the line. 

The dam broke with five minutes left, as Aleksandr Zuev's header out could only reach Szymanski, who took a touch before steering it through a sea of legs past Dyupin into the far corner. 

Rubin stay ninth on 22 points, while Dynamo remain second on 32 points.

Next RPL fixtures: Sunday 5 December - Nizhny Novgorod vs Rubin; Dynamo vs Ufa.