There is still work to be done.
The progress of Spartak under Guillermo Abascal is perhaps one of the main revelations of this RPL season. Remember for yourself with what distrust most of us treated the figure of a 33-year-old no-name coach, who, at his last job in the Swiss Championship, held the position of acting. But Spartak, under the Spaniard, not only didn’t swim, but shows the most stable level of play in the league after Zenit. With 11 rounds to go, the gap from the leader is 8 points. The distance is not colossal, but right now it is not clear how the team from the Northern capital can lose such an advantage – the difference in class with opponents is too great.
But the confident game of Spartak certainly inspired many red-and-white fans in terms of prospects for the next season. It is clear that in the fight for medals, a lot will depend on competitors (whether Zenit leaves several important legionnaires, whether Fedotov stabilizes the results of CSKA, what will happen to Lokomotiv, Rostov and Dynamo), but right now you can note the details , which Spartak needs to improve in order to increase their chances for the title. Spoiler: it will be very difficult to do this in the current conditions.
“Spartak” almost missed the victory with 2:0, but “Torch” put the squeeze on! Abascal is furious about refereeing
Strengthening the center of defense
Unstable defensive play is, perhaps, the main complaint against Abaskal for the entire period of his work in Russia. Last summer, Spartak lost key defender Zhigot, who had paired with Jikia. Samuel had a luxurious set of qualities – the first pass, speed, power, connection on the standards. It is very difficult to drag a high-quality football player with such a range of actions in the RPL now, therefore it is not surprising that Zhigot’s departure has turned into a bleeding wound that does not want to heal.
Abascal tried a variety of options: unsuccessfully tried to squeeze at least a little reliability out of Mevli, gave many chances Chernovand in the game with the “Torch”, albeit forcedly, made of Maslova a full-fledged central lock in a deuce. Of course, all these experiments are not from a good life. The link between Zhigo and Jikia seemed monumental, but with a high line of defense and the requirement for a central defender to move the ball forward with high quality, even this experienced pair was not a 100% reliable guarantor. It is significant that in the last five seasons of the RPL, Spartak has never conceded less than 30 goals.
George Jikia.
Alexander Fedorov, Photo “SE”
Now the vector of solving the problem is approximately traced. Probably, choosing a partner for Jikia in a scheme with four defenders Abaskal will be between a newcomer Alexis Duarte (about the level and potential of which it is still difficult to say something unambiguous) and Ruslan Litvinovwhich has proven itself better than others in the position of the Central Locker and with the return to service Martins Pereira can return to the defense from the support zone, where he has played in recent matches.
Naturally, there are no guarantees that at least one of the two options will work properly and Spartak will add quality to the game from behind. And in order to fight against Zenit, it is necessary to do this, since it is in terms of defensive play that there is an abyss between these teams. The numbers on the surface are 9 goals conceded by Zenit in 19 rounds against 22 by Spartak. And there is no anomaly here – the difference in shots allowed at own goal is also almost twofold (201 against 126 for the team from St. Petersburg).
“It’s a pity that a hairdresser or barber can influence the game.” Abascal on Spartak’s victory and refereeing Bezborodov
Leading defensive midfielder
Problems in the defense are most often of a complex nature, therefore, the matter will definitely not be limited to reaching a new level of partner Jikia in the center of defense. For years, Spartak had a problem in the support zone – Fernando once worked here, who was praised for his majestic diagonals and scolded for his careless play without the ball. Fernando left a long time ago, there is no deep playmaker at least about the same level in Spartak, and holes in the support zone remain the team’s signature feature.
Abascal has repeatedly said that Spartak needs to work on the control of the game – and it is almost impossible to do this, both in attack and in defense, without a defensive midfielder in the diamond scheme. Remember Carlo Ancelotti’s Milan, who played in a similar formation, and try to imagine the Rossoneri of those years without Andrea Pirlo. In Spartak, the story is similar – the coach tries young Litvinov and Umyarovaless often Pruceva. But each of them is either unstable under pressure (the most important skill for a point guard) or sags in the game without the ball. And sometimes both. In any case, it is at least naive to expect a stable level from guys aged 21-22.
Ruslan Litvinov.
Fedor Uspensky, Photo “SE”
Spartak can increase the control of the game, that is, improve possession and allow fewer optional moments at their gates, primarily due to a tough defensive midfielder. This is a big problem for Abaskal, but even taking into account the reduction in spending on transfers, the RPL level is gradually falling, because one of the young talents of Spartak can add and give the team what it so badly needs.
The historical hundred of Promes, the excessive fury of Abaskal, the beauties from the Torch. Rabiner – about the brightest Saturday RPL match
Saving Leaders
One of the main advantages of Zenit over its competitors is a balanced and well-played line-up, which is updated smoothly and without sudden changes. While competitors are busy closing gaps after the departure of legionnaires and changing entire lines, Zenit can afford to carry out targeted reinforcements, calmly letting go of recent leaders.
It is difficult to call the work of Abascal some kind of global revolution – obviously, to one degree or another, he uses the achievements of Vanoli and even Tedesco. But for a successful fight against Zenit at a distance, Spartak first of all needs stability, and it is achieved only through experience, variability and teamwork. All this hints at the fact that it is very important for Spartak to keep the legionary backbone, which determines a lot in the team. Yes, Abascal released 11 Russians in the starting lineup for the Russian Cup match with Lokomotiv, but players of the level NicholsonaMartins Pereira and Moses give the team quality. What can we say about Promes, without which the current Spartak is completely impossible to imagine?
Quincy Promes.
Fedor Uspensky, Photo “SE”
Fortunately for the fans of the red-and-whites, any high-profile departures are unlikely in the near future – Promes will most likely remain, like Martins Pereira. There are more questions about Nicholson and Moses, they will definitely not interfere with the team next season and will make the rotation of high quality (by the way, another big difference between Zenit and its competitors), but it is impossible to call them irreplaceable. In general, since the legionnaires important for Spartak have not yet left Russia, it means that they can be persuaded to stay for at least another season. And for Spartak, maintaining the backbone is very important in the future for the next season.
Zenit and Spartak: games of nerves
Standard
Among the moments that Spartak needs to work on, Abascal also called the implementation. But in terms of numbers, everything is not bad at all – the red-and-whites this season of the RPL require an average of 7.1 hits per goal, slightly less than that of Zenit, the leader in this indicator (7.5). Yes, and xG statistics claims that Spartak scored 4.58 goals more than expected. The number of shots, expected goals, dangerous chances created – in all these indicators, Spartak is second only to Zenit. So Abascal spoke more about the importance of converting moments in key episodes of matches.
But what the team would really like to work on is standards. This season of the RPL, Spartak has zero goals from free kicks and only two from corners – one of the worst results in the league. By the way, the same applies to standards in defense. Five goals conceded from the standards is not a disaster (the median figure in the RPL), but there is nothing good here either. Home preparations, original draws and clear work on the players in their own penalty area on corners are parameters that Spartak definitely could not hurt to improve.
Guillermo Abascal.
Daria Isaeva, Photo “SE”
Preservation of the atmosphere
The almost lightning-fast collapse of the champion Spartak during the times of Carrera and Glushakov is an indicative story that RPL fans will probably remember for the rest of their lives. This is how quickly people who have recently been allies can quarrel totally. And in general, motivational conversations and the notorious team building are the most important part of the work of a modern coach. What we then once again convinced.
Two RPL matches – two judicial scandals. Today the referee “stole” two goals from Spartak
It seems that Abascal understands this very well – he is emphatically correct in dealing with the press, he does not “jump” either on his opponents, or even more so on his players. And most importantly – no one even thinks to make rubbish out of the hut, even if he was lying around somewhere in the corner. An indicative moment, how, after the final whistle with Fakel, the angry Abaskal was literally not allowed to approach the judges by his own players. Obviously, there is a favorable situation in Spartak now – the players trust the coach, and he sincerely believes in them. But in football, and in the world as a whole, things sometimes change too quickly, so maintaining the right atmosphere in the dressing room is no less important task for Abascal than purely football moments.
