Akhmat were beaten 2–1 by Spartak Moscow in their Russian Premier League Round 2 fixture.

 

The hosts took the lead in the 5th minute when Egash Kasintura calmly converted a penalty. Referee Anton Frolov awarded the spot-kick after Christopher Wu handled the ball following an Akhmat goal kick. Spartak restored parity in the 39th minute through Wu, before Esequiel Barco curled home a stoppage-time free-kick in the 90+1st minute to seal all three points for the visitors.

 

After the match, Akhmat head coach Stanislav Cherchesov spoke to the media at the post-match press conference.

 

— It was a proper game of football. We took the lead and nothing changed in terms of our approach — we stuck to the game plan throughout. I cannot even recall a genuine scoring opportunity for our opponents, apart from the effort that struck the crossbar towards the end. We carried out our plan and played the way we wanted. The only disappointment was that we failed to turn our promising situations into shots on goal. Our opponents scored twice from two set pieces.

 

— Do you agree with the referee's decision to send off Egash Kasintura?

 

— If the referee showed a red card, then he must have seen something. The only thing that concerns me is why it takes five or ten minutes to review a dismissal.

 

— Did you speak to Giorgi Shelia after the late goal?

 

— I thanked him and the team for their performance. I told everyone to focus on preparing for our next match, which is already in two days.

 

Akhmat Grozny vs Spartak Moscow 1–2 (1-1)

 

2 August 2026. Kick-off: 20:30

Venue: Akhmat Arena, Grozny. Attendance: 5,191

Weather: +25°C, clear

 

Referees: Anton Frolov (Moscow), Aleksey Safyan (Moscow), Dmitry Bereznov (Moscow)

VAR: Kirill Tsyganok (Kaliningrad), Vasily Zhabchenko (Krasnodar)

 

Akhmat: Shelia; Ibishev, Tsake, Ndong, Bogosavac, Adamov, Ismael (Shchetinin 62), Romao, Kasintura, Samorodov (Keliano 62), Melkadze (Maksuti 82)

Head coach: Stanislav Cherchesov

 

Spartak Moscow: Maksimenko; Wu, Babich (Prutsev 79), Zobnin (Parada 90+3), Denisov (Dmitriyev 79), Umyarov, Litvinov, Barco, Marquinhos, Solari, Martins (Ugalde 65)

Head coach: Juan Carcedo

 

Goals: 5' Kasintura (pen.) 1–0; 39' Wu 1–1; 90+1' Barco 1–2

 

Bookings: Ndong (90') - Maksimenko (42'), Zobnin (77')