Rubin Kazan lost 2-1 against FC Krasnodar in the debut of Peruvian Christian Cueva. Despite having Cueva in the last half hour of the game, the green and white club couldn't do anything to avoid the defeat.
Although the former Sao Paulo player started the match as a substitute, he got the opportunity to enter the field in the 63rd minute, when his team was 2-1 behind in the score. His entrance, with the number '20' on his back, was made by Mauricio Pereyra.
What surprised many in this match is that the coach of Krasnodar, Murad Musayev, decided to play Cueva as a left winger when many believed that the midfielder would play in the center. And it has been on that side of the field where he has had his best performances with Peru, Toluca, and Sao Paulo.
Unfortunately for his interests, Christian Cueva couldn't do anything to prevent Krasnodar's defeat in the start of the Russian Premier League. In the next match, the Peruvian team will face Ural in the second round of the tournament.
PREVIEW
The green and white team faces this match with the confidence of not having lost to Rubin Kazan in the last five years, having played ten matches against each other. Krasnodar has become unbeatable against the 'Gallo' and they hope to continue expanding that statistic.
| COUNTRY | TIME |
| Peru | 11:00 a.m. |
| Colombia | 11:00 a.m. |
| Mexico | 11:00 a.m. |
| Ecuador | 11:00 a.m. |
| Chile | 1:00 p.m. |
| Argentina | 1:00 p.m. |
There is no more time for trials and FC Krasnodar as well as Rubin Kazan are determined to start the Russian Premier League on the right foot, which will face two serious contenders for the title, the maroons and the greens.
And the team led by Murad Musaev trusts its new reinforcements, among them Christian Cueva, to start the Russian Premier League in a great way and fight for the title this season. The Peruvian is said to have earned a starting position alongside fellow World Cup player Fyodor Smolov, who has been named captain of the team for this season.
Rubin Kazan vs. FC Krasnodar are going after those first three points that will make it possible to dream of winning the title that grants direct access to the group stage of the Champions League. The entire Peru will be attentive to what 'Aladino' does in this new adventure.
Rubin Kazan vs. FC Krasnodar: possible lineups
Rubin Kazan: Soslan Dzhanaev; César Navas, Chico Flores, Filip Uremovic, Vitali Ustinov; Igor Konovalov, Khoren Bayramyan, Alexander Bukharov, Sardar Azmoun, Pavel Mogilevets; Dmitriy Poloz. DT: Kurban Berdyev
FC Krasnodar: Stanislav Kritsyuk; Sergej Petrov, Uro Spajić, Roman Shishkin, Cristian Ramírez; Charles Kaboré, Mauricio Pereyra, Christian Cueva, Dmitriy Stotskiy, Fyodor Smolov; Ari. DT: Murad Musaev