Zenit beats CSKA in clash of table-toppers

Zenit were confident 2-0 winners away at Russian Premier League leaders CSKA to heat up the battle for the top spot in the table. ­CSKA Moscow 0-2 Zenit St. Petersburg Both sides were struggling with injuries before the starting whistle. Tomas Necid, Mark Gonzales and Georgiy Schennikov were sidelined for the Muscovites. The visitors, for their part, were missing Sergey Semak and the league’s top scorer, Danko Lazovic, and were set to give Italian international defender Domenico Criscito his debut. It appeared Zenit coach Luciano Spalletti was better at coping without his stars, as the St. Petersburg side cruised to a well-deserved win at Khimki Arena just outside the Russian capital. Their goal in the first half was annulled due to an offside call, which looked like a rather doubtful decision from the referee. But after the half, they continued to increase their pressure on CSKA. Two goals within one minute decided the fate of the game. Aleksandr Kerzhakov netted the opener with a header in the 54th minute and – just seconds later – Aleksandr Anyukov upset home keeper Igor Akinfeev from close range to settle the final score, 2-0. CSKA stays on top of the table, but the loss see the gap with second-place Zenit shrinking to just two points. Anzhi Makhachkala 2-0 FC Tom Anzhi unveiled their newest signing, Russian international midfielder Yury Zhirkov, ahead of their home game against Tom, whom they beat 2-0 thanks to goals from Aleksandr Prudnikov and Ma'hach Gad'zhiev. The 27-year-old Zhirkov joined the Makhachkala club from Chelsea on a four-year-deal and hopes to play in next week's game against Spartak Moscow. Kuban Krasnodar 3-1 Dynamo Moscow An impressive five-game winning streak came to an abrupt end for third-placed Dynamo Moscow. The Blue-and-Whites losing to Kuban, who went ahead through Sergey Davydov. German star Kevin Kuranyi equalized with a cracking strike, but Davydov got his second to give Kuban the lead again. Substitute Mikhail Komkov sealed the deal for Kuban, scoring the third goal with 18 minutes remaining. Volga Nizhny Novgorod 0-1 Rostov Hector Bracamonte's 82nd-minute winner saw Rostov move out of the bottom two as they grabbed a 1-0 struggling Volga, despite having two men sent off in the last seven minutes.