Sochi, after 16 rounds of the RPL, has accumulated only 10 points and is in last place. However, there are still chances of salvation: Baltika has only two more points, Akhmat three and Orenburg four. Reaching the play-offs before the season would probably be considered a failure for the Sochi team, but not now.
The situation can improve today, December 2, in the home match against Krylia Sovetov.
What happened to other teams that were now in the same (or even worse) situation as Sochi? And how many points must the southerners score before the winter holidays to ensure their permanence in the elite? Statistics from previous years show that the Fisht Stadium will likely host First League matches next season.
Statistics of the last 10 seasons
Torpedo in the 2022/2023 season
Photo: Dmitry Golubovich, “Championship”
Team and season: “Torpedo” -2022/2023 Place after 16 rounds (number of points): 16 (6) How much did you score at the end of the season and what were you like? 13, 16
The black and whites returned to the Russian football elite seven years later, but left miserably. Six points after 16 rounds: no one had a worse result in the 21st century. In the second part of the season it was not possible to improve: “Fakel” scored 30 points from 14th place, more than double the points ahead of the Torpedo team.
Team and season: “Rotor”-2020/2021 Place after 16 rounds (number of points): 16 (8) How much did you score at the end of the season and what were you like? 22, 15
Unlike Torpedo, the Volgograd team woke up after a slow start and even achieved a streak of three consecutive victories against their direct rivals: Ufa (1-0), Arsenal (1-0) and Tambov (3-1) . But this turned out to be not enough: a single point was not enough to overtake Tula in the table! But it was close.
The match between Ufa and Dynamo in the 2020/2021 season
Photo: Alexander Safonov, “Championship”
Team and season: “Ufa”-2020/2021 Place after 16 rounds (number of points): 15 (10) How much did you score at the end of the season and what were you like? 25, 13 How we play in confrontations: unions were canceled
The Ufa team suffered the same season as Rotor. However, unlike the residents of Volgograd, they still remained in the RPL. A brilliant finish helped: three wins (including 3:0 against Spartak and Akhmat) and two draws (1:1 with CSKA and 0:0 with Zenit) in the last six rounds brought the club to 13th place. In theory, this is of sets, but they were canceled due to problems with the licenses of the FNL teams.
How Rotor and other Celestial League teams revived:
How the “heavenly league” clubs revived. 5 stories from Russian football
Team and season: “Yenisei”-2018/2019 Place after 16 rounds (number of points): 16 (10) How much did you score at the end of the season and what were you like? 20, 16
There are no sensations here: the Krasnoyarsk team played both parts of the championship equally and, as expected, finished the season in last place. Four wins in 30 games are too few to avoid relegation. Five or more draws are already normal, as Ufa showed in 14th place. The teams are separated in the table by six points.
Team and season: Arsenal 2016/2017 Place after 16 rounds (number of points): 15 (9) How much did you score at the end of the season and what were you like? 14 (28) How we play in confrontations: beat Enisey thanks to an away goal (1:2, 1:0)
Another of the aggressors of Krasnoyarsk residents, only this time in the meetings. Tula came to them after a terrible start: only one (!) victory in 16 rounds and the bottom line of the table, on a par with poor Tom. At the finish line they shared the place again, but this time they saved 14th place with “Wings”. And they finished on top thanks to personal matches (1-1, 2-0), to be able to dry out Enisey in the transition matches.
Alexander Sobolev in Tom
Photo: Denis Tyrin, “Championship”
Team and season: “Tom”-2016/2017 Place after 16 rounds (number of points): 16 (9) How much did you score at the end of the season and what were you like? 16 (14)
The inhabitants of Tomsk, unlike their neighbors on the Tula table, did not have a happy ending. The team went bankrupt and finished the season with the youth. Spartak fans may be grateful to him for eliminating young Alexander Sobolev, but this does not make it easier for Tomsk fans: there was 1:6 with Loko, 0:6 with Rostov and 1:5 with Krasnodar.
How “Tom” and “Anzhi” died:
Two football clubs have officially died in Russia. How did they get to this point?
Team and season: Arsenal 2014/2015 Place after 16 rounds (number of points): 16 (8) How much did you score at the end of the season and what were you like? 25, 16
What Arsenal achieved in the 2016/2017 season, they did not achieve two years earlier. Although in both cases there was notable progress. Six rounds before the final of the RPL 2014/2015, the club generally left the relegation zone, winning three victories in a row: 1:0 against Spartak, Ufa and Amkar. And then he missed the end, scoring only two points. Rostov was four points ahead from 14th place.
“Zenit” – “Terek”
Photo: Elena Razina, “Championship”
Team and season: “Terek”-2013/2014 Place after 16 rounds (number of points): 15 (9) How much did you score at the end of the season and what were you like? 33, 12
Perhaps the top climb on our list and a brilliant reference point for today’s Sochi. They lost the first half of the season mediocre, in the second the Grozny team added 24 points. For comparison, during the same period Zenit accumulated 27 points, and Spartak even 17. It is not surprising that the future “Akhmat” avoided conflicts in this situation.
“Anji” – “Tom”
Photo: Sergey Rasulov, “Championship”
Team and season: “Anji”-2013/2014 Place after 16 rounds (number of points): 16 (6) How much did you score at the end of the season and what were you like? 20, 16
While the Chechen team was regaining ground, the Dagestan team was rapidly losing ground. His first victory was obtained only in round 20 (1-0 with Rubin), and in total there were three during the Championship. Even the winter transfers of Alexander Aliyev, Vladimir Bystrov, Fedor Smolov and Alexander Bukharov did not help. But Anji, using the remnants of his former greatness, made it to the round of 16 of the Europa League! That is the paradox.
Briefly about the previous period of the 21st century.
We scored 10 points or less in round 16 and in the end we were not saved:
2012/2013 season: Alania (was 10 points, now 19) and Mordovia (8, 20); 2010 season: Sibir (9, 20); 2009 season: Khimki (10, 20) 10). And no, this is not a typo; 2007 season: Rostov (10, 18); 2006 season: Shinnik (8, 11); 2004 season: Rotor (6, 22); 2002 season: “Falcon” (8, 23) ;
Khimki in a match against Spartak in 2009
Photo: Alexander Safonov, “Championship”
In round 16 they scored 10 points or less and finally escaped: There is no such.
Of the 17 such teams, only three retained their registration in the RPL. And this says a lot about Sochi’s prospects for the rest of the season. But what happens if the southerners score points in the confrontations with Krylia and Orenburg and improve their position before the winter break? How many points do you normally need until matchday 19 to stay in the Premier League? Let’s take the last 10 seasons as a guide:
in the 2013/2014 season, in the 19th round, 10 points were enough for Terek to at least not be directly relegated from the RPL; in the 2014/2015 season, Rostov repeated the trick (11); in the 2015/2016 season – Kuban and Anzhi (15 each); in the 2016/2017 season – Arsenal (12); in the 2017/2018 season – Arsenal and Dynamo (16 each); in the 2018/2019 season – Ufa (16); in Season 2019/2020 – only Sochi (17); in the 2020/2021 season – again Ufa (13); in the 2021/2022 season – Khimki “(14); in the 2022/2023 season – “Torch” (14) ;
Terek 2013/2014 showed that Sochi can be saved, even after losing the remaining two matches this year. But this is something that is bordering on fantasy. If the Sochi team still does not want to be relegated to the First League, and there is no doubt about this, they need to add at least four points. Otherwise, maintaining registration, judging by previous seasons, is only possible in theory.
The best old matches in extreme weather. You must choose the best:
Classification
Iconic football matches in Russia in extreme weather conditions. Which was the best?
THE NAIS IS OFFICIAL EDITOR ON NAIS NEWS