Miranchuk back on goals, helps Lokomotiv overcome Rubin

Lokomotiv Moscow 1-0 Rubin Kazan
Sunday 8 May, RZD Arena

Goal: Lokomotiv - Miranchuk (pen 87) 
Man of the Match: Artem Karpukas (Lokomotiv)

Alongside getting a win against the suffering Rubin side, Lokomotiv celebrated some great comebacks. Stanislav Magkeev played all 90 minutes for the first time since last autumn, Daniil Khudyakov made a clean sheet in his first start in four matchdays, as Guilherme was out of the squad. Anton Miranchuk got more time to play, as he entered the pitch for the whole second half, replacing Maksim Petrov.

There was only one shot registered by both teams in the first 45 minutes. The second half started much cheerier, as Aleksandr Lomovitsky scored on a breakaway, but the goal was disallowed due to the offside. So Leonid Slutsky’s team finished the game without any legal shots on target, while Lokomotiv were lucky in the end, as a handball by Vladislav Ignatyev caused a penalty in the final minutes. 

It was Miranchuk, who took the shot and beat Yury Dyupin from the spot, and it gave him not just the first goal since the comeback, but also the first goal since December 2020. Curiously, it happened also in a home game against Rubin and was scored in the same way from the spot.

Lokomotiv remain sixth on 44 points, while Rubin stay 13th on 29 points.

Next RPL fixtures: Saturday 14 May - Lokomotiv Moscow vs Dynamo Moscow; Sunday 15 May - Ural Ekaterinburg vs Rubin Kazan