CSKA Moscow started the season with a massive reset of the squad, seeing a number of ageing players retire or leave, and coach Viktor Goncharenko was left assembling a squad with a very tight budget.
Yet it was clear from the start that the scouting team have unearthed a few gems out of the signings made and CSKA began to show some pretty impressive football in spates, getting a few thumping wins at home while also proving resilient in taxing away games.
The team showed enough consistency to keep themselves attached in the top three, doing better than expected at the start of the season, and the main reason for that was the blossoming of Fedor Chalov into a reliable goal getter, having struggled to really make the grade last season.
The clever and elusive striker proved decisive in a number of games while the on-loan midfielder Nikola Vlasic proved his perfect foil as CSKA at times really caught the eye, most notably in a historic 3:0 win away at Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Yet, CSKA never really reached the same heights after the winter break and the teams always seemed a but too flat and predictable, right from a 2:0 loss at Arsenal in March. They dropped too many easy points at home and eventually lost the battle to get into the top three.
Still, getting a spot in the Europa League group stages at the end of what was always going to be a transitional season for a club with a tight purse is no mean feat and Goncharenko has proven to be very adaptable in guiding a team, which has a bright future with so many promising players in the fold.
