"Spartak" - "Barcelona"

Spartak fans in Luzhniki. Photo by RIA Novosti, Alexander Vilf

On November 20, Spartak Moscow will host the most awaited match by the team's fans: it will host Barcelona. Spartak only has a chance to advance from the group to the spring part of the Champions League if it defeats the Catalans, but most fans will come to the stadium just to see the best club in the world.

Commented by : Alexander Polivanov

[ Discuss with other readers ]

16:06' Hello everyone. A conflict almost arose in Lenta.ru last night - both Barcelona fans and Spartak fans wanted to play this match. Unlike what happened in the previous match between the teams, Spartak won in Lenta.

19:01' On the tickets to Luzhniki it is written that the match will start at 20:00, but this is exactly the case when you need to trust not the ticket, but the TV program - due to the non-translation of the Dmitry Medvedev clock, Luzhniki today live according to European time, and the rest of Russia - as usual.

20:01' Spartak fans have prepared some kind of mega-performance today for all the Luzhniki stands, excluding the away stand. The performance should take place during the Champions League anthem, but knowing how Muscovites love to be late, you somehow fear for it.

20:03' But we start without delay!

20:04' The official website of the Champions League already has the lineups, and they are very different from what we have on the table.

20:06' Today it is unclear what shape Dikan is in at the Spartak goal, but he is being replaced by... Sergei Chernyshuk! The 20-year-old goalkeeper is a completely new link in the Moscow team. But once upon a time we couldn’t get used to Parshivlyuk’s surname, and then nothing, we got over it.

20:08' I even remember Parshivlyuk's first match - I was at the stadium then. It seems they played with Zenit. The stadium then fell silent in bewilderment when Parshivlyuk entered the field.

20:23' The indignant management asked me incredulously: "What, the match is already over? 2:2" I had to put the archive sign back into the archive - oh, those were the days! Karpin! Pisarev! Nikiforov!

20:26' Do you know why it's sold out today? Not only because Barcelona came to Moscow for the first time in n years. It's just that Barcelona are red and blue, and Spartak fans are used to filling the stadium when the game is against the red and blue.

20:35' Today we will watch football on NTV+, not on NTV: not because of the fig in Gazprom's pocket, but so as not to miss the performance of the fans.

20:38' Wow! They gave me a picture from Luzhniki - there are already a lot of people there at B. Other stands are not shown.

20:41' Barcelona have perhaps the optimal squad - Puyol is perhaps in reserve. Celtic should be thanked for this - because of him, Barca had to travel with the first squad.

20:42' Spartak has Kombarov Jr. in midfield, and Makeev insures him - it seems so. Commentators on NTV call this a “strengthening” of the right flank. Hmmm.

20:44' "Buffon almost ate his sweater" and other NTV+ revelations! Show me the stadium!

20:45' There is a picture from Luzhniki!

20:47' I wonder if Barcelona played in the Russian Championship, would it attract such a full house?

20:48' However, if Barcelona had played in the Russian championship, a revolution would have occurred in Spain.

20:49' I asked my colleague Yaroslav via SMS, who went to write a report from the match, how it was at Luzhniki. “I don’t know, I can’t see it from the metro,” Yaroslav answered. So if in the evening you read in his report about how he arrived at the stadium an hour before the match, do not believe it, this is an artistic exaggeration.

20:52' NTV operators made a comparison between Kombarov and Messi (sic!). One has 10 matches in the Champions League and zero goals, the other has 72 matches and 54 goals. Guess who has how much.

20:56' And here is the performance - a red and white mosaic with the words "Spartak Moscow" written on it.

20:58' I wonder if the boys who go hand in hand with Dikan and company envy those who go hand in hand with Messi?

20:59' Awesome performance - it also says "only victory" and depicts gladiators. Champions League anthem.

21:00' A lover of Barcelona and all things elegant, Kadaner, pulled up to the TV. It will stop my pretentious speeches about Spartak.

21:00' Well, or console, if it's 0:3 by the 15th minute. Then I’ll give him the news online, you’ll see.

21:02' They showed a photo reporter who was trying to take a picture of Emery. On his cap it was written in large letters: FSB.

01' Let's go!

01' Messi and a few other non-frost resistant guys wearing gloves. However, “Spartak” also warmed up someone.

02' Barcelona began to weave - as a result, the first corner.

03' And weaves again. It weaves and weaves - it won’t lead to any good.

03' Ari and Emenike ran into the first counterattack, the stadium came to life, Kadaner was already trembling, but the Russian legionnaires did not even reach the penalty area.

04' "Three minutes, and still 0:0?" - asked the releaser who came up to the TV. We are in a panicky mood in Lenta.

05' Oh, Kombarov-sr. intercepted the ball in the center, passed along the flank, but for some technical reasons failed to serve.

06' “Nothing, they’re playing normally,” Kadaner assessed the first five minutes of Spartak. Meanwhile, Kombarov Jr. is attacking, serving - Emenike has not yet entered the game.

07' If the stands scream like this the whole match, the Barcelona players will go deaf by the end of the second half.

08' “Barcelona is drying out the game, as if ready for 0:0,” Bubnov would say. If he had not watched a single Barcelona match, which, with all due respect to him, I cannot believe.

09' Barcelona's corners are still a chance for Spartak to escape into the KNTRTK. You must immediately push the ball behind the goal line.

10' First shot on goal for Valdez! A pass from Makeev to the center, a touch shot - well above the goal. But it's a blow! This is Chelstrom.

11' Spartak gave Messi space, but he was knocked down with the ball by Sukhi. With a hammer.

11' Again the attack ended with Chellstrem - he handled the ball unsuccessfully and was unable to pass the ball into the empty zone. Then Kombarov Jr. served, but this was nonsense.

12' Pedro! He receives the ball in the center of the penalty area after a long pass, shoots it point-blank, Dikan made a beautiful save.

13' Dikan showed that he may not be quite in shape, but he chooses his position like a captain!

14' And the first corner at the Barcelona gate. “It’s almost like a free kick,” Kadaner doubts the quality of his team’s defense. Come on guys, Insaurralds are there, Sukhi - all go ahead!

15' A wonderful combination with a small pass to Ari and a killer position for Kombarov senior. For some reason he is higher than the gate.

15' You can't score the first goal in the Champions League with such shots.

15' Ari robbed Messi, deceiving the Argentine. Then he went on the attack, and then he did everything rather mediocrely.

16' And Alves' goal after another Messi pass. Hello.

17' The stadium fell silent, and I don't understand either - some kind of juggling in the penalty area, then the ball flies to Alves, who flies bam into the far corner. Dikan stretched, but did not stretch out.

18' Messi set himself the task of scoring a goal only if he dribbled past three people. It’s not working out yet, but it’s already close.

19' Emenike runs mindlessly around the opponent's half of the field and tries to force everyone to put pressure on them. Everyone looks at him like he’s crazy and doesn’t put pressure on him.

20' "Spartak" uses yard tactics - to attack the one with the ball.

21' Emenike and Kombarov Jr. talentedly screwed up the attack so that Barcelona ran away three to three.

22' And now Jurado has screwed up too. But he will tell the children that I tried to beat the Barcelona defender. And even in the penalty area.

23' Poof, it was something phenomenal - a counterattack, Emenike's cross into the center, central defender Sukhi (!) joined in and hit it in touch. Alas, higher.

24' In general, Sukhi in a counterattack is something phenomenal. Ari deliberately brought him to a striking position, taking the defender along with him.

24' If Sukhi had scored, it would be time to talk about Emery's genius.

25' Well, or about Suha's inspiration. However, he needs to do something good today - he is still neglecting his players in the center of defense.

25' Express analysis from commentators on NTV+: “Is Vilanova frozen to the bench or is he not frozen yet?”

26' "Spartak", by the way, is not losing 0:3, Cadaner has no chance of appearing in this online game.

27' And there is 0:2. Messi. Hello!

28' A cutting pass to Iniesta, Makeeva beats Iniesta like a man standing, hits, Dikan saves, but the ball flies to Messi, who is not being held by anyone.

28' Well, this isn't funny anymore.

29' It's good that CSKA is not wearing red and blue uniforms today. Otherwise it would be completely lousy.

30' “Spartak is not losing to Barcelona in the game, but there are problems in the final stages,” Gazeta.Ru writes on its online page. I’m reading it on the occasion of their redesign - while they haven’t set up anything yet.

31' Emenike went to two defenders, but forgot to dribble. Come on Dzyuba!

32' Dziuba, however, is injured. So does McGeady. Like Parshivlyuk. Just like Bilyaletdinov.

32' Emenike, beating Mascherano, stepped on Mascherano. He seemed to have already shown that it was time for Puyol to go out, but Mascherano decided to play some more.

33' Iniesta and Pedro teach figure skating lessons to Suhi - he skates on the lawn as if on ice, and they laugh.

34' “Like children,” I received a mysterious SMS. It’s probably not about this match, but about something else.

35' Aaaah, how could they do it again?! Kombarov sent an excellent cross into the center of the penalty area, Emenike tried to touch it - and again missed the goal.

35' If today someone's coin showed heads 10 times in a row, Spartak would already win 3:2. There were moments!

36' Pedro Rodriguez played with Dikan in the theater and received a yellow card.

37' Editors come up to the TV and no longer ask: “What? 0:0?” They sympathize.

38' “In terms of the number of programs, Spartak looks good,” - optimists gathered in the NTV studio.

39' Messi. 0:3. Sadness.

39' Give it away, is Cadaner really online?

40' Pedro was not blocked, he passed the ball to Messi, Insaurralde for some reason fell and did not intercept the ball, Messi went one on one, beat Dikan and into the empty net.

40' It's good that Chernyshuka didn't put Emery in the goal. This would be a trauma for a guy. Out of grief, he would have asked to join some Spanish championship team. Even if it’s in the second league.

41' In this match I bet somewhat recklessly on a draw. Valera, We believe!

42' “Well, it’s fun here, a hot Spanish woman is sitting next to me, the stands are singing,” writes Yaroslav from Luzhniki. If he's late reporting, you know why.

43' Before this match, Messi was seven goals behind Gerd Müller's record for most goals in a calendar year. Let's hope Messi wasn't going to break the record today.

44' It's time for the first half to end. And in the second, I would let Jano out - let him show off. Maybe he could at least show with beautiful feints that Russia also has its own Messi. Even if they are Georgian.

45' "0:3 does not follow from the game," the commentator laments. And then he adds: “No need to whine!”

45' Spartak ran to score and missed Pedro. Or rather, how did you miss it? He faced four defenders, but still managed to beat him and pass a dangerous pass.

45+1' And here comes Dikan, preventing Iniesta from scoring.

Half-time We have 15 minutes to forget what happened in the first half.

Break' On NTV+ they advertise a channel for those who care. In the first half, this is clearly not a TV channel for Spartak.

Break' But what could they do when such a machine is against them? Well, for example, score a couple.

Break' When "Spartak" swelled from "Porto" 5:1, we here in the editorial office sang AND EGOR TITOV WILL SCORES. So here it is:

Break' It's too early!

46' Let's go! Give me more goals!

46' And not just one goal.

46' Tito-Tito Vilanova made Emery look bad. This is me imagining newspaper headlines, for example. In a world where there is no censorship.

46' Ivan Bebek didn't like Makeev and started yelling at him. I wanted to get into this online, nothing else. It’s a pity Damagoy Vuchkov is still silent.

48' We need to sign Niklas Beckström from Dynamo hockey to Spartak. He scored a hat-trick the other day, and today he shipped a two-seater. We played with Vityaz, by the way, at the Small Sports Arena - he didn’t even have to go far.

49' He just needs to be allowed to play with a stick.

50' Pass to Emenike in the center of the penalty area, all the defenders dispersed so that Spartak could score at least one, but Emenike needed three touches to handle the ball.

51' And another cross, this time from Makeeva! But here Valdez is good at the exit.

52' Commentators are having fun by listing the matches that Spartak lost with the biggest score. Soul-saving.

52' Chellström and Kirill Kombarov have conceived something truly Barcelona. Well, I can think too - the Swede's pass was too strong.

53' He should be replaced with Beckström. Nobody will notice.

53' Even if Barcelona are counted as a technical defeat of 0:3, it will still be 3:3.

53' "Forward, Spartak!" - the stadium shouts. You should try better like this: “Back, Barcelona.”

54' Really, why have we come here in large numbers from our Catalonia. Go to your Spain.

55' As the commentator puts it, the Barcelona players made “holes and holes in a small handkerchief”, Fabregas went one on one, but DICK!

56' Kadaner looked at this case and went to the cinema. What are you, Kadaner?! This is where the intrigue lies.

56' Well, it's almost like kindergarten - Messi does whatever he wants in the penalty area, serves beautifully to Pedro - he heads it to Dikan.

57' Who will get +1 to experience today is Dikan.

58' Although, it would seem, Dikan has much more experience.

58' There is a feeling that Barcelona are just in training without a goal. She doesn't need to score - she just needs to attack well.

58' Well, "Spartak" performs the function of intellectual columns.

59' It would be nice if Spartak decided to return the money for tickets to the fans.

60' Spartak decided to play like Celtic - that is, give the ball to Barcelona and wait for the weather by the sea.

61' Spartak is preparing a double substitution - Zhanot and Welliton instead...

61' ..."instead of Suha and Insaurralde," the commentator jokes funny.

62' Messi again beat the whole team, but it was not he who hit the goal, but... Kjellstrom! angular.

62' Carioque yellow card for talking. And where did the Brazilian learn Serbo-Croatian?

63' Welliton replaces K. Kombarov, Jano replaces Emenike.

63' Jeannot is greeted with applause, Emenike is seen off with a roar.

64' Ari marked the substitution with a kick to Pedro's ass. This cheered him up - Pedro is playing well today. Like all of Barcelona.

65' "Spartak" is almost in the first positional attack of the evening. The stands really like it, but Barcelona don’t like it at all. She thought and thought and took the ball away.

66' It's good that Barca doesn't have the task of winning 5:0. The team calmed down. It would be nice if Spartak’s defenders didn’t calm down.

66' They say that there is no time in cricket - teams play until one admits defeat. If football were like cricket, the second half would not be played.

67' Welliton slipped and flew into Victor Valdez, he fell and couldn't get up!

68' Commentators joke about the new sprocket on the fuselage, but here Welliton did not want to cause injury at all - he was saving himself.

68' Valdez stood up and graciously accepted Welliton's apology.

69' Alves shot with his left foot - it turned out like Suhi in the first half - very high. Defenders today generally hit somewhere in the wrong place all the time.

70' The commentator suggests salting Barcelona's programs for the future, which are clearly superfluous today.

71' You take them out of the jar on a winter evening, and they already crunch!

71' Makeev handled the ball harshly in the penalty area, but beat the defender. Valdez came out and prevented Evgeniy from becoming for one moment the happiest person in the stadium.

72' Until he remembers the score on the scoreboard.

73' And here comes the moment for Welliton - Ari gave it to him, he accelerated, but again Valdez!

74' Valdez wants a cracker, the rest of Barcelona don't seem to care.

74' Kombarov got tired of playing and decided to take a break. To do this, he knocked down Alves at the corner flag.

74' Carioca leaves, Bryzgalov arrives. Carioca leaves as if Spartak were winning - very slowly.

75' You know, this game also has its advantages. There are few yellow cards, everyone will play against Celtic.

76' While I was writing the last little sentence, Barcelona created two chances. One Dikan made a noise, the second defenders gathered.

77' And the third moment! Messi ran away, Iniesta's shot didn't work, and then Dikan saved on the finishing touch.

77' There is a wild rumor that after this match Emery will retire and Kobelev will come in his place.

78' The logic of these rumors, apparently, is this: they bought the Kombarovs from Dynamo, they became leaders in the team. Maybe it will work with Kobelev?

78' Suchy knocked Fabregas into the corner flag. "For what?" - asked Fabregas. “There’s no point in losing your passport,” Sukhi replied.

79' Makeev took the ball from Janot, who flails his arms helplessly.

80' Better let Barcelona score. Otherwise, a very sluggish second half.

81' Jurado in the center received the ball, being free like an anarchist. Hit - corner. Well, the corner was played poorly.

81' Alexander Song has the honor of playing the last 10 minutes against Spartak. Instead of Javi.

82' Song also played at the Camp Nou with Spartak. And I even received a yellow card.

82' For a very long time, Barca decides who will wear the captain's armband after Xavi's departure. We decided to give it to Iniesta.

83' Messi came out to an empty goal after Jeannot's shotgun, Sukhi did not allow Messi to get a little closer to Muller.

83' Tell me a joke? "There was a blast from the window. Müller closed the window. Messi disappeared"

84' It seems that only Chellstrom has the desire to fight back, open up, fight. The others ate their fill of paella.

85' Pedro got tired of playing and was replaced by Gerard Deulofeu. This is such a new Messi, commentators promise.

86' The stands began to thin out, and Spartak suddenly moved four of them to the left flank, took the ball under pressure and brought Makeev out to strike. He misses the ball.

87' And another long attack - first a cross to Welliton (he was also below the ball), on the rebound Chelstrom fired with all his might above the goal.

87' Alba is also tired of playing, Montoya enters.

88' Spartak has a great chance to take last place in the group today and not wait for the sixth round. If Celtic beat Benfica, there may still be options for third place.

89' "The announcer announces the order of exit from the stands, but it is not clear to whom he is saying this. Everyone has already left," writes a sad Yaroslav.

89' Let's hope his Spaniard hasn't left the stands.

90' Jeannot hit Iniesta in the legs and fell. Penalty. Not in favor of Spartak.

90' Yellow card for Mascherano, well, at least there's something nice in the second half. It was Welliton who earned it for him.

90' Three minutes added.

90+1' While they were preparing for the (mediocre) free kick, they showed a close-up of Song. Today he has an iron-on hairstyle.

90+2' And another yellow card for Kjellström - for knocking down Fabregas.

90+3' Welliton tried to score the first goal in the Champions League, but he doesn't score from outside the penalty area. He never scores at all.

90+3' A fan ran out of the stands, apparently to score a goal - he was calmly taken away.

90+4' Come on, Spartak, run to score!

Afterword' And on this optimistic note - that's all. Goodbye, Champions League.

Afterword' With common sense, you understand that nothing terrible happened - well, they lost to Barcelona, but what did you expect? But the game left a gloomy impression - Spartak was kind of bad. See you soon!

"Spartak" - "Barcelona" Champions League