Dutch Heights

CSKA lost the first match in the Champions League

CSKA's next campaign for league championship happiness began with embarrassment. The army team lost to local PSV in Eindhoven - 1:2. Judging by the fact that in another match of our group “G” Fenerbahçe beat the tournament favorite “Inter” in Istanbul - 1:0, Valery Gazzaev’s team lost three points already in the first round, and in a match against not the strongest opponent, may turn out to be fatal.

Obviously, Valery Gazzaev’s team in its current form is living out its last season. Everything that we are so accustomed to - the constant trio of central defenders and supporting midfielders, wingmen covering the entire flank and ramming forwards - needs some rethinking and, probably, change. Under whose leadership, Valery Gazzaev or some other specialist, perestroika will take place is not so important for now. The main thing now is how the current CSKA will be remembered. The loser of the Champions League, which never managed to reach the playoffs, or a team of truly European level, which proved that winning the UEFA Cup was no coincidence.

The match with PSV has not yet given even a clue to the answer to this question. For now, it is only clear that Gazzaev’s team is aging. He does not become more experienced and seasoned, does not increase in solidity, but is gradually preparing for extinction. The Berezutsky brothers have stopped progressing, and their gaps in technical equipment, which previously could be attributed to the costs of growth, are becoming more and more obvious. And Rakhimich’s tactical fouls are getting worse. And this is no longer a targeted weapon reserved for the most extreme emergency situations. Krasic's inability to part with the ball in time can no longer be justified by youthful maximalism - the Serb never learned to play with his head up. And Semberes's universalism cannot be stretched out over the entire 90 minutes - at best it only lasts for an hour. There is, of course, Vagner Love, who is capable of turning the tide of a match with two touches, but this is most likely his last year in Russia. There is Yuri Zhirkov. But if he wants his name to be known in Europe as well as his Brazilian partner, this must also be one of his penultimate Russian seasons.

All this, of course, did not become known on Wednesday at Philips Arena. We saw all this a year ago in the Russian Championship. But all this time I wanted to believe that all the costs in CSKA’s game were only due to a lack of motivation. The Champions League anthem will sound, and the eyes of Gazzaev’s football players will light up. And they will run in unison to reach the playoffs of the Champions League.

They didn't run. We played against PSV with concentration, unprecedented for domestic matches, but without a spark, in some halftones. There were plenty of half-chances. But there were only two shots on target, and those were in the last four minutes of the match. And numerous unrealized moments are not a reason for pride. This is an assessment of the team's class. The more moments, the lower the score.

So the defeat from PSV, a well-trained European team, but not a big one, was absolutely deserved. The opponent didn’t push himself to the limit, didn’t push the tempo to the limit, played with reserves and still had more opportunities to score goals. The fact that Koeman's team scored only two goals is also an indicator of their class. Just the right amount of effort was expended to win. Lazovic's first goal after the army lost in the center of the field was the result of systematic pressure. The second, by Perez, turned out to be a control shot. So, just in case, to exclude any accident of the nervous last minutes. As it turned out later, PSV’s precaution did not hurt. Vagner Love's goal in the 89th minute was not a tragedy for the hosts.

Defeat in the opening match is, of course, not the collapse of all hopes. CSKA, fading, can still shine brightly in the Champions League. Or maybe already in the UEFA Cup. This is our size. Yesterday, in the first round home match, Spartak easily defeated the Swedish second division club Häkken - 5:0. Moreover, Roman Pavlyuchenko scored a hat-trick by the 19th minute.

Zenit had a more difficult time with the leader of the Belgian championship, Standard. And St. Petersburg ..... -- 3:0

Andrey VDOVIN