Artem Bandikyan made his first RPL start as CSKA defeated Sochi

19-year-old Armenian midfielder Artem Bandikyan made his debut in CSKA Moscow’s starting lineup in a Russian Premier League match. His first start was successful — he played 89 minutes against Sochi and helped his team earn a comeback victory with a 3:1 score.

The hosts opened the scoring first: in the first half Anton Zinkovsky put Sochi ahead. However, after the break CSKA took control. Ivan Oblyakov scored twice from the penalty spot, and in stoppage time Matvey Kislyak sealed the win.

Bandikyan began the match as a defensive midfielder and finished it on the right side of defense. This was his first RPL start for CSKA.

Artem Bandikyan’s match stats:

• Minutes played: 89
• Passing accuracy: 76%
• Key passes: 1
• Long balls: 2/5
• Ground duels won: 3/4
• Aerial duels won: 3/6
• Possessions lost: 20
• Fouls: 1
• Clearances: 3
• Interceptions: 1
• Tackles: 3
• SofaScore rating: 6.8

After 9 rounds, CSKA are second in the RPL table with 18 points, just one point behind leaders Krasnodar.