Reasons behind CSKA Moscow dip in form - Russian Premier League special
A couple of weeks back, CSKA Moscow were leading the Russian Premier League table, enjoying a healthy lead and they were the favourites to reclaim the league title. But now they have lost their place to Zenit St. Petersburg, and Dynamo Moscow have also leapfrogged
them to join the title hunt.
CSKA were seven points clear from the Bomzhi after the end of first round in the league but a series of laggard performances and sloppy work from the front pushed the Moscow-based club to third place on the league table. The Koni are on equal points with
the second placed Dinamiki and trail the league leaders by two points.
The Army-Men have failed to claim many points in recent games. The reason behind this sudden slip is their attack. The Armeytsy attack is completely dependent upon their star strikers, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Vagner-c35793 Love. Should these two fail to score, the Moscow
club would be left goalless.
This pair, when at their best, has managed to stretch opposition defences with little effort. They have forged successful partnerships in all competitions, be it Russian Cup, UEFA Champions League or the Russian Premier League.
CSKA reportedly paid 15 million Euros for Doumbia and there is no doubt the Ivorian front man has justified his price tag. Stuttgart, Hoffenheim and Tottenham Hotspur were all interested in the top scorer of the league but the former Young Boys attacker
decided to test his skills in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Russia-c2991.
Having netted 14 goals for the club this season, the talismanic striker is roaring to add more to his account. His teammate Vagner Love has helped him and the team, providing goals when they are most needed. The Brazilian national still has three more years
running on his contract and the former http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Flamengo-c39361 forward is looking to stay with the Russian club during the course.
After a little introduction to the promising strikers, it is necessary to mention that after the first round summer break, CSKA managed to score 14 goals, of which 9 were scored by these two players.
CSKA Moscow’s last win was against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/ASEC-Mimosas-c38507 forward yet again came to the rescue with a second half equaliser.
This is a clear indicator that the Moscow-based club are dependent on the pair and they could be in deep trouble if one piece of the jigsaw goes missing. The matches against FC Krasnodar, Zenit St. Petersburg, Kuban Krasnodar and Rubin Kazan ended in draws
as these two players failed to score.
The Meshki managed to expose this fact after defeating the Koni by 2-0 away from home. The former http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Luciano-c22574 Spalletti played with three central defenders to stop the CSKA Pair and this move paid rich dividends.
Since the defeat against Zenit, the Armeytsy have managed to claim six points from last five league meetings.
The Horses have been drawn against OSC Lille, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Inter-c39567 Milan in the group stages of UEFA Champions League, and they drew 2-2 against Lille in their latest European meeting. Guess who score the two goals for CSKA Moscow – Yes, indeed it was Doumbia
who rescued the Armeytsy in the cup tournament.
The Red-Blue head coach, Leonid Slutsky, needs to resolve this issue once and for all. He has to rethink the attacking strategies of the team to overcome the stern challenges put up by the rivals. Changes are badly needed at the Russian club if they harbour
dreams to reclaim the Russian Premier League title.
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