Dinamo Moscow were back in the top-flight after a year in the wilderness of the second division and were motivated to have a solidifying campaign under the guidance of experienced manager like Yuri Kalitvintsev. They started off with a dramatic 2:2 draw at home against rivals Spartak Moscow and managed to get some decent wins in the opening couple of months. They were enough to keep them relatively clear of the relegation places but the early momentum soon faded and gave away to some tired and predictable performances in the games in August and September. They went on a run of five games without scoring a single goal, losing four of them, and lost their key player in Kirill Panchenko to a serious knee injury. Suddenly things started to look really worrying as the team was devoid of inspiration and ideas.
A resounding 3:0 beating at Lokomotiv Moscow in early October proved the undoing of Kalitvintsev and the manager was given the sack. Reserve team coach and notable former player Dmitri Khokhlov took charge but he struggled to make much of an impact initially. The team was still looking too ponderous and lacking the player to really take the mantle and create chances of note. Yet important wins over direct relegation rivals Anzhi and Rostov in December changed the outlook for the Blue and Whites before the winter break.
They came out with a renewed squad in the spring, and managed to produce a few pretty solid and purposeful performances. They got their best result of the season in a 2:1 win away at CSKA Moscow at the start of April, thanks to a brilliant counterattacking showing. Yet safety was not secured until the penultimate game of the season, when a 2:1 success at Tosno moved them far enough from the bottom four. A final finishing position of 8th looks pretty decent on paper but Dinamo have rarely looked exciting and will be striving to do better in every department next season.
