The big day of President Alexander Lukashenko and Belarusian football, ‘sponsored’ by COVID-19 has arrived.
On Saturday, the whole world was watching the Vysshaya Liga - the Belarusian Premier League, for almost six hours straight. This isn't a quote from a cheap 'back to the future' sportsbook, but the actual reality football worldwide is at.
The Belarusian Premier League has re-branded itself as the last and best league in Europe, while millions were searching for links and broadcasts, as others were betting online on the results.
One has to admit - this is one fascinating outcome of the coronavirus outbreak. It took one of the world's most mediocre competitions, and suddenly the derby of Minsk is the most anticipated and exciting match worldwide. The result did not let the fans down.
SLAVIA MOZYR v BATE BORISOV
BATE Borisov, the eternal champion of Belarus, who lost the first matchday of the season to a university team - Energetik BGU, had everything to fight for against Slavia Mozyr.
When Willum Willumsson scored the advantage 10 minutes into the first half, it looked like the factory club was back to having its way - easy wins. But soon enough things turned around, when Nikita Melnikov equalised in the 32nd minute and completed a brace in the 51st minute to make it 2-1 for Slavia.
BATE has not lost two games in a row since 2004 - that’s a 16 (!) year streak. Somehow, the national mega-club of Belarus managed to lose the first two matchdays of the 2020 season.
FC MINSK v DINAMO MINSK
The other big match of the day was the Minsk Derby as FC Minsk, founded in 2006, hosted the legendary Dinamo Minsk. The latter is a club with heritage and history in the SSSR era, with a Champions League and Cup Winners' Cup quarterfinals qualifications.
While in the stands things were clearly in favour of Dinamo, on the pitch things seemed to be the complete opposite. Minsk was cruising, and thanks to goals by Vladimir Khvashchinskiy ('1), Eugene Chagovets ('41) and Roman Gribovski ('45), went down to dressing rooms with an ecstatic 3-0 lead at halftime.
Dinamo tried to get back on the horse late in the match with goals by Yevgeniy Shikavka on a penalty ('77) and Ivan Bakhar ('81), but it was too little, too late. 3-2 for FC Minsk and the Belarusian capital was all for the young Red and Blue side.
On another exciting fixture, the champions, Dynamo Brest, won 0-1 away against Slutsk.
Not much is left from club football competitions, as both African strongholds of Burundi and Angola seem to postpone matches due to the rise in their COVID19 cases.
Therefore, whether it's mixed with betting money or not, In Belarus, and Nicaragua, we trust.
NOTABLE SUGGESTIONS:
Managua v Diriangen (Sunday, 02:00 CET, Nicaragua Primera Division)
Real Estelí v Deportivo Las Sabanas (Sunday, 03:00 CET, Nicaragua Primera Division)
Real Madriz v Deportivo Ocotal (Sunday, 03:00 CET, Nicaragua Primera Division)