Rui Vitoria gets the sack as Spartak continue to struggle

Spartak Moscow decided to bid farewell to Rui Vitoria halfway through the season. The results have been poor and a managerial change was very much on the cards in the days leading up to his sacking.

Following the departure of Dominico Tedesco earlier this year, Rui Vitoria was given Spartak's reign this season. However, in less than four months, the runners-up from last year's Russian Premier League decided to part ways with the Portuguese boss.

The sacking came after the club lost 0-3 to PFC Sochi on Monday. This was Spartak's second defeat in four games. So, how did Spartak fall into this downward spiral?

Lack of summer arrivals to Spartak

Vitoria's tenure went south from day one after being denied the players he wanted in the transfer market.

The only major signing for Spartak this season was the arrival of Victor Moses from Chelsea. They failed to replace outgoing holding-midfielders Artem Timofeev and Ayaz Guliev.

Daler Kuzyayev, who was Vitoria's top target, stayed on with Zenit.

Poor string of results in the RPL

Spartak enjoyed contrasting fortunes in Russia and in Europe. Despite topping their group in the Europa league with ten points, domestic results were anything but poor.

Vitoria's reign got off to the worst possible start as Spartak lost 2-1 at home on the opening day to Nizhny Novgorod. Ironically, it was Novgorod's first appearance in the Russian Premier League.

Misery continued to pile on Spartak as they bottled home fixtures against Akhmat Grozny and PFC Sochi. Five defeats from their opening dozen games pushed them below the likes of Krasnodar and Krylya Sovetov.

Vitoria managed to delay the inevitable by wrapping up wins in Europe against Legia Warsaw and Napoli.

However, it was a matter of time before his reign would come to an end.

Expectations from Paoli Vanoli

Following an ignominious defeat to Sochi on Monday, in which the club saw their sixth red card of the season, Spartak decided to terminate Vitoria's contract.

It did not take much time to announce Paoli Vanoli as the new boss.

Vanoli was part of Antonio Conte's technical staff at Inter. Unfortunately, the Italian tactician did not take him to Spurs this campaign. He has served five years as part of Conte's backroom staff since the 2016 Euros.

The expectations from Vanoli are naturally high.

Spartak are a long way from where they were eight months ago. Vanoli's background undoubtedly makes him a fan favorite. However, he has a long way to go before Spartak can be back in contention for European qualification.