Russia vs. Czech Republic: 5 Things We Learned from Their Euro 2012 Opener

It wasn't quite as competitive as the opening match of the tournament, but Russia and Czech Republic's encounter in their Group A opener was equally as exciting.

The action was end-to-end and the ball found the back of the net on five different occasions; it was the type of match that we all hope will be replicated throughout the rest of the tournament.

In the end, one team asserted themselves as the front-runners of their group, while another gave themselves plenty to do in their last two matches.

Here are the five things we learned from Russia vs. Czech Republic.

The Russian Counter-Attack Is Incredible

The final scoreline of the match might deceive one into thinking that the Russians dominated this match, but that was just not the case.  Time of possession shows that Russia and Czech Republic each had 50 percent of the ball, and shots on target were almost exactly the same.

So what was so different between the two sides?

In a word, the counter-attacking play of Russia and its efficiency.

Russia were a constant threat on the break, zooming down the field in lightning speed, leaving defenders for dead and getting clear opportunities at the Czech goal.  Even though the Czechs had about the same number of shots and shots on target, their chances were not nearly as clear.

It was an amazing display from Russia, who proved they can play this style effectively.

This has to be a concern for potential opponents.

No Matter How Good Cech Is, the Czech Defense Is a Liability

I don't care how good of a goalkeeper you are, you just cannot be effective when strikers are in huge spaces behind your defense.

That was the case today with Petr Cech.

Perhaps the best keeper in the world, Cech was left for dead on far too many occasions and did his best to keep his team in the match for as long as he did.

The Czech defense must take the brunt of the blame for the scoreline and desperately needs to figure out how better to deal with the counter-attack.

Alan Dzagoev Is a Budding Superstar

In his first match at a major tournament, Alan Dzagoev scored twice and led his team to victory.

The scary part is that if his finishing had been better, he easily could have had more goals.

The 21-year-old from CSKA Moscow has been a player of great potential for years.  Now he is showing that he is past the point of potential and entering into superstardom.

Top European clubs should take note.

Roman Pavlyuchenko Must Start in Place of Alexander Kerzhakov

Before the tournament, I made a prediction that Roman Pavlyuchenko would have a poor tournament and fade from the ranks of Russia's strikers.

I was wrong.

In 74 minutes, Alexander Kerzhakov played as a striker, getting chance after chance and wasting every single one of them.

For the last 16 minutes, Pavlyuchenko dazzled, setting up a Dzagoev goal with a beautiful through ball and giving an exquisite individual effort to get a goal of his own.

If Pav is not starting next match, it will be a mistake.

Russia Are the Clear Favorites in Group A, Czechs Need Work

Russia's thumping of Czech Republic distinguishes them as the clear favorites of Group A.

Poland and Greece both looked less than stellar in their first match; further, Russia will go up against the co-hosting Poles in the next match with Wojciech Szczesny suspended.

Expect Russia to easily win the group and waltz into the quarterfinals.

They may even be able to rest players in their last match.

As far as the Czechs go, they are going to need to win their next match with Greece to have any hope of qualifying in the quarters.

They showed some skill going forward, but they really need to look to the back if they hope to make any amount of waves in this tournament.

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