Zenit St. Petersburg Vs. CSKA Moscow: 1-1 Draw Overturned; Zenit Incur Technical Defeat

The Russian Premier League saw its first big match of the season on Sunday with CSKA Moscow facing off against Zenit St. Petersburg. The 1-1 was enough to preserve each side’s undefeated records (it’s week four of the season in Russia, who play a similar schedule to MLS), but that wouldn’t stand for long. Zenit, as it turns out, ran badly afoul of Russia’s strict homegrown player rules, and thus retroactively forfeit the match in a technical defeat:

In addition to the points deduction, they’ve also been fined almost €5,000. The regulations state that each side much field a Russian player born no later than 1990 in their squad. Zenit failed to comply - and played on despite a warning from the official. It seems a silly way to cost yourself a point and some money, and even if you think the rules are too strict, they’re still the rules, and not abiding by them has proved fairly costly this time. What on earth was Luciano Spaletti thinking?

Zenit St. Petersburg and CSKA Moscow didn’t exactly come out in the second half with the same fight and energy as they had in the first, eventually playing to a 1-1 draw. Both teams got a few shots on target, but neither looked nearly as dangerous and determined in the first half, while both goalkeepers played well. In only the fourth week of the Russian Premier League season, with both teams undefeated, they will likely both be content with a draw.

Both Zenit and CSKA looked like talented, balanced, and tactically adept sides on the afternoon, despite the fact that they were both willing to take a draw in the second half. There’s no reason to believe that these teams won’t both be in Champions League places at the end of the season, and they should both contend for the RPL title. CSKA has a tough match next week against Rubin Kazan, while Zenit goes away to FK Amkar Perm.

Though not a proper local derby, the rivalry match between Russian Premier League giants Zenit St. Petersburg and CSKA Moscow is Russian football’s first big match of the season. Just three rounds into the season, both CSKA and Zenit are undefeated, but they are also both coming off of disappointing draws in round three. Both sides have gone relatively unchanged since the end of last season in Russia, so if you enjoyed watching either of these teams play in 2010, there’s no reason you shouldn’t enjoy this game.

Both teams won their road game against the other in the league last season, and both won in convincing fashion. In the previous season, both teams won their home fixture. Therefore, looking to history to figure out what might happen today doesn’t do us a whole lot of good. These results probably have quite a bit to do with CSKA’s brand of football, which often features lots of scoring chances, quick attacking, and a relatively flimsy center of midfield.