Dynamo Moscow's inconsistencies hurting their title ambitions

The Russian Premier League title is set for a tantalizing finish as Dynamo Moscow go head-to-head with perennial winner Zenit Saint Petersburg to capture Russian gold.

The White Blues of Moscow have come out of the blocks in a rather surprising way this season and have kept pace with runaway leaders Zenit for as long as two-thirds of the season.

No one would have expected Zenit to face any competition this campaign given how they have boosted their squad in the summer and the subsequent decline of other Moscow-based outfits. However, Dynamo was one exception that managed to go toe-to-toe almost every single weekend and even managed to top the table going into the winter break.

Inconsistencies post resumption for Dynamo

The winter break seemed to have come at the wrong time for the White Blues as they went into the break on the back of a five-match unbeaten run. They resumed in February with a 2-2 draw against Kazan.

The performance was sloppy in many ways as they allowed Leonid Slutsky's men to come back into the tie twice at the fag end of each half. Nonetheless, they put up an impressive performance against Khimki in the following match despite going down to ten men.

In all fairness, Roman Yevgenyev's suspension against Khimki was a major set-back as the defender has been a stalwart for them at the back. His replacement Saba Sazonov was twice at fault in their next game against Spartak as they went down 2-0 in the derby.

Sazonov failed to track down Quincy Promes as the striker eased a pass to Shamar Nicolson to give the Reds the opener. The Reds quickly increased their lead after Sazonov failed to block a curved volley from Promes. It was Dynamo's first defeat in eight outings, a result that handed the initiative to Zenit.

Lack of finesse in the final third

To the surprise of many White Blues faithful, their three-man attack has scored 18 goals between them; whereas their holding midfielder Danil Fomin has contributed 11 himself. This underlines a key problem with Dynamo, who are effectively very strong at the back.

While their forwards often make a mockery of their opponents who are not so pragmatic in their approach, they have failed to deliver against those who opt for a low block. No wonder they have lost to unfancied opponents like Nizhny and Akhmat Grozny this season.

With a three-pronged attack offering little to no prowess up front, it is becoming rather difficult for the White Blues to maintain continuity in performance and results.