Let’s be honest— if you’re in North America and looking for your weekend soccer fix, the Russian Premier League probably isn’t the first thing you think about. Which is a shame, because apparently Russian football is, as the kids say these days, lit af.
Krasnodar hosted Zenit yesterday, with both teams looking to stay in the hunt for both the title and Champions League qualification. Neither side had scored through 85 minutes of play and it really looked as if things would play out to a goalless draw. But on 86’, Zenit got on the scoreboard to send their hosts reeling.
Yet Krasnodar weren’t going down easy. The home side found an equalizer in stoppage time, appearing to steal a point when all seemed hopeless.
And then, with the seconds ticking down, Tornike Okriashvili hit a bicycle kick shot toward goal from 15 yards out and sent it just out of the reach of the keeper.
That’s a bicycle kick goal, in stoppage time, to win the game. If this were a Cup final it would be beyond belief.
Krasnodar held on for the 2-1 to muscle past CSKA Moscow for third place in the Russian Premier League. They’re now just four points behind Zenit in second place but still 10 full points behind Spartak Moscow in first. Too bad style points don’t count toward league position.