In an interview with Socialbites.ca, Valery Gladilin, a former footballer who played for Moscow Spartak and later coached in Russia, suggested that Khimki still has a realistic chance to preserve its Russian Premier League status by season’s end and avoid relegation to the First League. He notes that the club could capitalize on momentum as the campaign unfolds and stay among the top tier teams.
According to him, Frank Artiga’s squad is delivering high quality football and has the capacity to topple the league’s favorites on the right night. The team shows resilience, tactical discipline, and depth that can tilt tight matches in their favor.
“Khimki has a solid squad, and the leaders are in good form. They rely on a group of experienced players – Dzhikia, Bakaev, Zabolotny – who are beginning to function as a cohesive unit. The victory over Lokomotiv stands as clear proof of their growing chemistry,” Gladilin said.
In the most recent round, Khimki met Dynamo Moscow in a testy clash at Arena Khimki and came up short with a 4-3 defeat. Dynamo drew first blood through Daniil Fomin in the 28th minute. Khimki struck back with Lucas Vera leveling in the 30th minute and Zelimkhan Bakaev putting them ahead in the 45th minute plus one. Two minutes later, Dynamo equalized with a goal from Roberto Fernandez. After the break, Dynamo extended the lead with goals from Arthur in the 50th minute and Mumi Ngamale in the 73rd. Khimki did manage a goal credited as an own goal by Alexander Kutitsky, closing the scoring on a tricky night for the home side.
A reminder that Gladilin, a former CSKA player, has also highlighted Miralem Pjanic in past discussions as an example of practical excellence in midfield.