Silenced the players of "Zenith". Some of them refused post-match comments, some pretended not to hear requests for an interview. Some of them did not reach the mixed zone at all, leaving the stadium in a roundabout way. Still, such powerful blow for selfishness! Zenit has not won a single trophy in the last two seasons, so even the departure from the Russian Cup is extremely unpleasant. "What is there to talk about?" - shrugged off his hands Vyacheslav Malafeev, which the teammates gave to be torn apart by the attackers of the opponent. ventured to base Hulk, Ezequiel Garay, Axel Witsel, despite the fact that in the next six days, Zenit are waiting for battles with CSKA and Bayer. Did not help.

“Today's result is a big shock for us,” -. We released the game 10 minutes before the end of regular time. This is my responsibility. This defeat irritates me, my headquarters, the club - all of us. 10 minutes before final whistle we had everything to go on, but a couple of mistakes - and we lost control, while the guests worked very well. Both teams had their chances during the meeting. We could make the score 3:1, but in the end we lost. Naturally, this should not have happened. I am extremely disappointed. That's my fault".

However, Portuguese Main coach Zenit is sure that the defeat from Arsenal and 120 minutes hard game will not affect the state of the St. Petersburg team in the match against CSKA on Saturday:

“Of course, we are all waiting for CSKA, but that's another story, because it will be a championship match, where Zenit is now in the lead. We need to get together and discuss the mistakes. Clearly, we are not in an ideal situation now. Everything would be ideal if we went to the quarterfinals. However, in Moscow, another story awaits us. Now it is important to recover psychologically, to regain concentration, at the same time, you can’t get it out of your head last match so as not to repeat the mistakes.

The mentor of the Tula Gunners, whose team has never won in 11 rounds of the Russian Championship and scored only three goals,.

“Honestly, I lost my voice,” Alenichev admitted. - When we got Zenit, I was delighted, because it is from this level that rivals gain invaluable experience. Games like today, especially for our football players, remain in memory for a lifetime. For the guys, this is a very memorable moment. I am glad that the team played freely, was not afraid of the stars of Zenit, played a very spectacular match and showed high-quality football. She had many scoring chances, as did her opponent. Maybe we were lucky to some extent, because we were losing 2-0, and Zenit had to bring the match to victory. The guys showed fighting qualities. And extra time is a lottery, because the opponents play on fatigue. We were lucky that we were able to catch Zenit on the counterattack. I thank the guys for a wonderful evening, which we presented to the Tula and, I hope, St. Petersburg fans. Now I am 99% sure that after this match, Arsenal will score points in the championship. I think the victory in St. Petersburg will give us confidence.”

Arsenal players, of course, were in a completely different mood than their counterparts from Zenit. A graduate of the Zenit Academy defender Andrey Vasiliev said in an interview with reporters that he feels special pleasure, a storm of emotions from winning in his hometown. Indeed, it seemed.

“This is beyond words! It's very nice to win your own club at your own stadium, in your city. With such a score, and even in a match with the best team country, it is difficult to escape, but we found the strength to play our game from the bottom. We used Zenit's mistakes in defense, showed our character, which allowed us to win. It didn't seem to me that the hosts relaxed. Zenit are very strong, it's hard to play against them. Of course, we have a desire to compete for the Russian Cup. We play to win every game. Regardless of who is against us - Zenith or Gazovik. Were the players promised increased bonuses for the victory over Zenit? No comment!".

According to the Arsenal defender Sergei Sukharev, the Premier League leader relaxed at 2-0.

“Awesome game experience! We won against the strongest this moment teams in the Russian championship. I think our victory is well-deserved. We won through character, dedication and, of course, goals scored. Probably, the players of "Zenith" appeared imposing. Still, 2-0 is a comfortable score. Didn't expect to miss out. Why do Arsenal players grow beards like they do in hockey? So we also have the playoffs now. Can Arsenal win the Russian Cup? Anything is possible!"

Midfielder of the Tula Gunners Vladislav Ryzhkov just like his coach, he hopes to rise in the championship after a strong-willed victory over Zenit in the Russian Cup:

“It’s impossible not to tune in to Zenit. They, probably, on the contrary, had problems with the mood today. This is clear. Our position in the Russian Championship speaks for itself. We had good chances to score in the first half, and the outcome was fantastic, of course. While I have some emotions, it is difficult to comment on something. Everyone wants to show good game Petersburg, and we succeeded. If you watch matches with Arsenal, you have seen that we create a lot of scoring chances, we just cannot use them. Perhaps there is not enough class, but we are growing, I think we will break through in the championship.”

Albeit a little late, but we will sum up the results of the Arsenal match against Zenit and draw some conclusions.

The defeat of "Zenith" from the Tula "Arsenal" was perceived by most football observers as a sensation, as a surprise. Leitmotif: underestimation of the opponent, the departure of a number of players to the national teams, and so on and so forth. Everything is analyzed starting from the “Zenith”. And "Arsenal" is exhibited as a team that was just lucky that day. Is it so?

Tula "Arsenal" in recent years has changed three head coaches and completely updated the club's leadership. After the hasty departure of Dmitry Alenichev, the club and the team "stormed". That is Bulatov with a dull and monotonous game. True, she gave her result, but pushed the fans away from the stadium.

That super-open, straight guy-shirt Sergey Pavlov. He was frankly lucky, on Bulatov's luggage, adding a little emotionality, he brought the team to the FNL, but further. And he and the club management did not know what to do? Hence the massive invitation of "pensioners", watching the attacker from "Napoli" (not from the Tula boutique?), then ... Enough. If it weren’t for the bold decision to replace the club’s management and change the head coach, then we would have played in the FNL this season and would have continued to watch the “team approaches to the stands after the match.” There was simply no other.

The arrival of Adzhoev was perceived with hostility: "barbecue", "cutting budgets" and so on and so forth. And the appointment of Kiryakov looked very strange. But... Winners are not judged! Has been completed the main task for the season - a place in the Premier League is saved! And how it was achieved, we will leave it to the losers. In the off-season, Arsenal were not seen to be hyperactive in the transfer market, the team was updated minimally. And if you believe the management, then almost all the players came in the status of free agents, i.e. is free. Adzhoev and his team focused on inviting a great coach to Tula, who in a short period of time could improve the team's game and provide the team with comfortable progress in the tournament. The choice fell on Miodrag Bozovic.

Montenegrin specialist has extensive experience in Russia. Practice shows that he is more comfortable working in the provinces. Apparently, the fans there are simpler and the tasks for the season are not so ambitious. And most importantly, Bozho knows how to stage a team game. In Tula, this has been proven once again. The "Arsenal" of the autumn 2017 look is a controlled team that plays according to the clear tactical pattern of the artist Bozovic. Shades vary from bright to frankly black, but the latter are few. As a result, the Tula club for the first time in its participation in the Premier League is now not in the relegation zone or transitional matches in terms of points scored, but closer to the Europa League. And if not for two home defeats from “Tosno” and “Amkar”? It's scary to imagine what would happen in Tula now! Although such a result for today is more than worthy.

A few conclusions:

1. Arsenal today represents a team that can be safely attributed not to the outsiders of the tournament, but to strong aprons that can beat any team, both at home and away.
2. If Bozovic finds a boost in the winter off-season, Arsenal could well end up in the top eight
3. The construction of an RFPL-level club is proceeding slowly but surely progressive movement forward.

The main sensation of the game weekend in the RFPL occurred in St. Petersburg, where Zenit lost to the Tula Arsenal - 0:1.

First time

This match, like all others in the 13th round, began with a minute of silence in memory of sports director Zenith Constantine Sarsania. The Blue-White-Blues themselves played in mourning bands today.

The very same game in the first half turned out to be extremely dull and inexpressive. The squad of Roberto Mancini started the meeting at high speeds, but this is a distinctive feature of the Italian team, which is enabled by default. Nothing intelligible could be extracted from the speed of action. Moreover, Zenit did not have a territorial advantage as such. Not in the style of Bozovic's teams, this is to put the bus. Therefore, Arsenal also attacked.

The first of two dangerous moments in the half was created in the 12th minute. Shatov cut the transfer to the far corner of the goalkeeper on Kokorin, who threw a sphere on Driussi, and Sebastian struck his head – just above the gate! In the Zenith game, a lot was reduced to long passes on the opening Kokorin and Driussi. But everything that the Petersburgers created was too readable.

The Tula team also did little in attack: the hosts' defense worked out conscientiously, and the Gunners lacked the accuracy of small movements in order to create problems at the Lunev goal. The result of all this is 0 shots on target. But the championship leader was still accurate once. In the 40th minute, Erokhin decided to long-range strike, and it cost Gabulov a lot of effort to pull the “round” out from under the left post! With a relatively calm game, the teams went on a break, and, to be honest, nothing foreshadowed a radical change in the game.

Second half

And to some extent it happened. Mancini changed Shatov to Dziuba, the scheme changed, and the mood of Zenit too. Almost immediately, the Blue-White-Blues organized a scoring attack: Krishito crossed from the standard to the left offside line, from where Ivanovich shot Gabulov's goal. 1:0? Not! Offside, and two meters. The team of referees worked well, and the Serb himself seemed to understand that he was closer to the goal than the last defender.

Five minutes later, Sebastian Driussi got another chance. After Smolnikov's cross, the Argentine striker hit his head from close range - again past. "Zenith" in those minutes took possession of an impressive territorial advantage, which was then reinforced by Miodrag Bozovic. Yes, yes, there is no mistake - at the beginning of the final third of the match, the Arsenal coach changed striker Igor Shevchenko to Henri Hagoush, who often plays in defense.

A little later, Mancini replied: Leandro Paredes instead of Daler Kuzyaev. Yes, fresh forces were needed in midfield. In the 68th minute, Zenit scored the second goal - and again after a set-piece, and again offside! This time Dziuba scored, and he was in the wrong position. Here the Zenit coaches surrounded the reserve referee, but the replay showed us all that this goal was also legally canceled.

But after 6-7 minutes, the unexpected and almost unbelievable happened. Arsenal's quick counterattack, Kirill Kombarov cut a chic diagonal from the right flank to the area of ​​the left corner of the goalkeeper's area, where Lunev tried to get to the ball, but in vain - Kangva was closer to the projectile, and it was he who struck past the goalkeeper and right into the goal - 0: one! At the beginning of the review, it was written that Bozovic did not really like "buses" - but after goal scored, it seems that Graf had no choice but to change the scheme of his game to 10-0-0.

Zenit had only one chance over the next ten minutes, when Kokorin entered the penalty area on the right and shot past. Then, at Arsenal, Grigalava replaced Alvarez, and at Zenit, Poloz changed Yerokhin. Moreover, the St. Petersburg replacement turned out to be quite funny. Erokhin did everything to quickly leave the field, but Mancini had not yet had time to explain to Poloz what he should do.

By the way, Dmitry could score with the first touch after Smolnikov's throw - the ball went off his foot and flew past the left post. Four minutes before the end of regular time of the match, Ilya Maksimov came out instead of Goran Causic.

Match results

That’s what they didn’t expect, they really didn’t expect it. One shot on target - one goal. Tula "Arsenal" becomes a specialist in the leaders of the championship. First Krasnodar, now Zenit. So you can get to the European Cup zone. Of course, not without a huge share of luck, Bozovic's wards took their three points. But the Petersburgers themselves are to blame. Until Arsenal put the bus at their penalty area, there were chances. In the second half, when switching to total defense, it was already less, but sheds in the Dzyuba area should have played. Did not work out. And now the intrigue flares up with new force, because CSKA got close to Lokomotiv and Zenit. The hotter will be the derby of the two capitals next week!

Zenit players refused to be interviewed after the defeat by Arsenal, and the Tula players admitted that they dream of winning the Russian Cup. The sensational victory of the Tula Arsenal in the 1/8 finals of the Russian Cup at Petrovsky silenced the Zenit players. () Some of them refused post-match comments, some pretended not to hear requests for an interview. Some of them did not reach the mixed zone at all, leaving the stadium in a roundabout way. Still, such a powerful blow to self-esteem! Zenit has not won a single trophy in the last two seasons, so even the departure from the Russian Cup is extremely unpleasant. “What is there to talk about?” - the disappointed Vyacheslav Malafeev shrugged his hands, whom the teammates gave to be torn to pieces by the attacking opponent. Andre Villas-Boas took the risk of putting Hulk, Ezequiel Garay, Axel Witsel in the “base”, despite the fact that in the next six days Zenit are waiting for battles with CSKA and Bayer. Did not help.

"Today's result is a big shock for us," Villas-Boas said at the post-match press conference. We released the game 10 minutes before the end of regular time. This is my responsibility. This defeat irritates me, my headquarters, the club - all of us. 10 minutes before the final whistle we had everything to go on, but a couple of mistakes - and we lost control, while the guests worked very well. Both teams had their chances during the meeting. We could make the score 3:1, but in the end we lost. Naturally, this should not have happened. I am extremely disappointed. That's my fault".

However, the Portuguese head coach of Zenit is sure that the defeat from Arsenal and 120 minutes of hard play will not affect the state of the St. Petersburg team in the match against CSKA on Saturday:

“Of course, we are all waiting for CSKA, but that's another story, since it will be a championship match, where Zenit is now in the lead. We need to get together and discuss the mistakes. Clearly, we are not in an ideal situation now. Everything would be ideal if we went to the quarterfinals. However, in Moscow, another story awaits us. Now it is important to recover psychologically, to regain concentration, at the same time, you can’t get the past match out of your head so as not to repeat the mistakes.”

The mentor of the Tula Gunners, Dmitry Alenichev, whose team has not won a single game in 11 rounds of the Russian Championship and scored only three goals, hopes that now Arsenal will break through.

“Honestly, I lost my voice,” Alenichev admitted. When we got Zenit, I was delighted, because it is from this level that rivals gain invaluable experience. Games like today, especially for our football players, remain in memory for a lifetime. For the guys, this is a very memorable moment. I am glad that the team played freely, was not afraid of the stars of Zenit, played a very spectacular match and showed high-quality football. She had many scoring chances, as did her opponent. Maybe we were lucky to some extent, because we were losing 2-0, and Zenit had to bring the match to victory. The guys showed fighting qualities. And extra time is a lottery, because the opponents play on fatigue. We were lucky that we were able to catch Zenit on the counterattack. I thank the guys for a wonderful evening, which we presented to the Tula and, I hope, St. Petersburg fans. Now I am 99% sure that after this match, Arsenal will score points in the championship. I think the victory in St. Petersburg will give us confidence.”

Arsenal players, of course, were in a completely different mood than their counterparts from Zenit. A graduate of the Zenit Academy defender Andrey Vasiliev said in an interview with reporters that he feels special pleasure, a storm of emotions from winning in his hometown. Indeed, it seemed that Vasilyev was mentally still on the field.

“This is beyond words! It's very nice to win your own club at your own stadium, in your city. With such a score, and even in a match with the best team in the country, it is difficult to escape, but we found the strength to play our game on the bottom. We used Zenit's mistakes in defense, showed our character, which allowed us to win. It didn't seem to me that the hosts relaxed. Zenit are very strong, it's hard to play against them. Of course, we have a desire to compete for the Russian Cup. We play to win every game. Regardless of who is against us - Zenith or Gazovik. Were the players promised increased bonuses for the victory over Zenit? No comment!".

According to Arsenal defender Sergei Sukharev, the Premier League leader relaxed at 2-0.

“Awesome game experience! We beat the strongest team at the moment in the Russian championship. I think our victory is well-deserved. We won through character, dedication and, of course, goals scored. Probably, the players of "Zenith" appeared imposing. Still, 2-0 is a comfortable score. Didn't expect to miss out. Why do Arsenal players grow beards like they do in hockey? So we also have the playoffs now. Can Arsenal win the Russian Cup? Anything is possible!"

The midfielder of the Tula Gunners Vladislav Ryzhkov, just like his coach Dmitry Alenichev, hopes to rise in the championship after a strong-willed victory over Zenit in the Russian Cup:

“It’s impossible not to tune in to Zenith. They, probably, on the contrary, had problems with the mood today. This is clear. Our position in the Russian Championship speaks for itself. We had good chances to score in the first half, and the outcome was fantastic, of course. While I have some emotions, it is difficult to comment on something. Everyone wants to show a good game in St. Petersburg, and we succeeded. If you watch Arsenal's matches, you've seen that we create a lot of scoring chances, we just can't use them. Perhaps there is not enough class, but we are growing, I think we will break through in the championship.”

The first defeat in the Russian Premier League since May 7, Zenit suffered from the Tula Arsenal. The misfire of Roberto Mancini's team, especially for "Sports Day after Day", was dismantled by the ex-defender of the blue-white-blue, champion of the USSR-1984, who for ten years was part of the coaching staff of the blue-white-blue Nikolai Vorobyov.

1. Several players of the main team of Zenit remained on the bench at once

This can be easily explained by the past matches of the national teams. Players from national teams return to different state. It's about psychology, and physical condition, and game tone. At coaching staff The club has the opportunity to evaluate all this in training. Of course, this is taken into account. Do not forget about medical examinations, which are also carried out after the arrival of players from the national teams. All this is taken into account when choosing a composition. There are, of course, some tactical nuances. Arsenal's style of play had to be taken into account and upcoming match in the Europa League. So the strategic component also took place.

2. In the attack, the Petersburgers acted less aggressively than usual

This is also due to the fact that many players returned from national teams. I would call their condition not dismantled, but different. Someone arrived tired after a big load. Someone, on the contrary, sat on the bench and lowered his playing tone. Plus, the teams have completely different requirements: both playing and mental. Speaking more specifically about the Argentines, they did have a long and difficult flight. This also affects the condition of the players. In a sense, the defeat of Zenit is the result of the matches of the national teams.

3. The goals of Branislav Ivanovic and Artem Dzyuba were not counted due to offsides

In my opinion, it was clearly visible that both Ivanovich and Dziuba climbed a little, but behind the line of defense, being in an offside position. Dzyuba, by the way, came out well as a substitute. Dmitry Poloz also had a good moment immediately after appearing on the lawn, he just missed the ball. And Leandro Paredes fit well into the game. Made some good passes and set pieces. However, there was no integrity in the game of Zenit, there was fragmentation. The attack lacked speed, the ball moved slowly. There were not enough aggravating actions of the players. Unlike the same Arsenal.

4. Arsenal made one of the few counterattacks

If you look at how the Tula team plays in last rounds, then there are much more victories than defeats. And this is not just so, it is a consequence of the game that the team has been preaching lately. We see a good organization, excellent discipline and self-confidence of the players, which is also very important in football. Well, the ideal combination that led to scored a goal, practically left no chance for the owners to cope with this moment. Blue-white-blue in defense played enough high level. With the exception of the very counterattack of the Tula.