CSKA and Spartak became the silver and bronze medals of the RPL

The 2022/23 season of the Russian Football Championship ended with the 30th round matches on Saturday.

Another strong season was St. John’s, who won their fifth consecutive title (the tenth in its history) and took the second star in form. Petersburg “Zenith” passed by. Sergey Semak’s team dominated from all sides, showing the attack with the most goals (74 goals scored) and the most effective defense (20 goals conceded). Petersburg striker did not feel the departure of Artem Dziuba – Brazilian Malcolm replaced the main scorer, who became the top scorer of the season (23 goals) and took the first place in the league in the “goal + pass”. system (30 points).

It was a stubborn fight for the silver medal until the final round, but the CSKA players came out more stable than their arch-enemy from Spartak. Striker Fedor Chalov had a fantastic season scoring 19 goals and justifying hopes of performance boosts after a loan from experts and fans to Swiss Basel. Igor Akinfeev remains supportive in defense – the army veteran does not lower the bar and remains one of the best goalkeepers in the RPL.

It is unlikely that the last season could be called successful for the “red-whites”, but the team led by the young Spaniard Guillermo Abascal relatively steadily went the whole distance and did not leave the leaders. Quincy Promes had another great season scoring 20 goals and beating club legend Yegor Titov (88) in terms of goals scored. However, the most important thing for the Red-Whites was the end of team owner Leonid Fedun’s era. He joined the club in 2004, during which the team won the championship, Cup and Super Cup of Russia, but his reign will be remembered for numerous high-profile scandals, coaching resignations and unreasonably expensive transfers. Now the managers of “Spartak” “manage” Lukoil.

Rostov stayed as close as possible to the prizes, but Valery Karpin’s team blurred the end of the season, scoring just six points in the last five rounds, leaving the southerners in fourth place. Seriously counts on medals and “Akhmat”, replacing Andrei Talalaev with Sergei Tashuev throughout the season. Under the guidance of an experienced coach, the Grozny team balanced the game and took fifth place for themselves, repeating the record six years ago.

The capital’s Lokomotiv and Dynamo teams left mixed impressions of the season. In winter, the “railway workers” were in the relegation zone, but after firing everyone who participated in the German “Sapsan” plan and appointing Mikhail Galaktionov, a young and promising coach, “Loko” flew in and took the last eighth place. One of the main reasons for such a dramatic transformation of the team was the successful transfers – Sergey Pinyaev, Maxim Glushenkov and, of course, Dzyuba. The age striker did not take root in Turkey, so his arrival in the crisis team aroused suspicions. As a result, Artem embarrassed the critics – eight goals plus five assists in 11 meetings and a new contract on improved terms.

“Dynamo”, on the contrary, finished the rest. The bet on the managerial talent of Slavisha Jokanovic did not work, Russia’s main talent Arsen Zakharyan looks completely faded after the failed transfer to Chelsea and the transfers did not work out. As a result, it took a disappointing ninth place in the year of the century.

A year ago, Torpedo fans rejoiced after the confident release of their top league favorite. However, from the very beginning of the season it became clear that it would be difficult for the team to obtain a residence permit in the RPL. Neither the arrival of Ilya Gerkus as president nor the appointment of Andrey Talalaev as head coach helped – the “black and white” lost match after match. The nearly empty stands of Luzhniki, the country’s largest arena for home meetings, also added to the despair. Talalaev couldn’t stand the turbulence either, and was replaced by Pep Clotet, the little-known Spaniard Torpedo will try to get into the RPL next season. The main veterans – Alexander Ryazantsev, Artem Samsonov and Igor Lebedenko will also remain in the team.

25 goals in 30 rounds, 15th place, four wins in one season and five coaches – the results of the championship for Khimki. The Moscow region team is mostly remembered for scandals related to dismissals, the invitation of priests to the base and the vivid statements of deputy Roman Teryushkov. Despite all the problems, the club’s main investor Tufan Sadigov will not give up on the project, Talalaev’s contract is designed for five years. “Khimki” and “Torpedo” are planning to return soon, but for now their place among the elite will be Kazan “Rubin” and Kaliningrad “Baltika”.

During the season, Khimki (once again) refused the services of Sergey Yuran, but the specialist got a job in Nizhny Novgorod and helped the local club hold onto the play-off zone. The Voronezh “Torch”, which appointed the charismatic Vadim Evseev throughout the season, remained in the same district. Now Nizhny Novgorod and Voronezh will challenge the right to play in the RPL with Moscow “Motherland” and Krasnoyarsk “Yenisei”, respectively. Matches will be played on 6 and 9 June.