© EuroFootball.com
After the matches of the 29th, penultimate, round of the Russian Premier League played on Monday, Moscow's Lokomotiv - the club of Deividas Česnauskis moved one step closer to the champions title by taking advantage of their opponents' failures and breaking into the first position.
Lokomotiv easily defeated Torpedo in the derby match, while Moscow's CSKA, unable to defeat their city neighbor Dinamo, had to give up their leader position to their opponent.
Meanwhile, Sankt Peterburg's Zenit, which still had hopes of competing for the gold, lost these opportunities in a fluctuating battle by losing to Moscow's Moskva. At the same time, Samara's Krylja Sovetov defeated Rotor, who bid farewell to the league, and now, along with Zenit, has 53 points, while Torpedo is one place below with 51.
Despite losing to Kuban, Yaroslavl's Shinnik secured the sixth place, while Moscow's Spartak lost to the Saturn team and dropped to ninth position. Very important victories were achieved by Rostov and Perm's Amkar teams, who respectively defeated Rubin and Alania teams, rising from the bottom of the table.
In the last round, Lokomotiv would secure the title with a victory over Shinnik, or if CSKA fails in the match against Moskva. Kuban will fight for survival in the league, needing not only to defeat Amkar but also hope that Alania and Dinamo won't earn any points. The only remaining ticket to the UEFA Europa League will be sought by Zenit, Krylja, and Torpedo.
Tournament table
29th round results
1 - 2
12' [0 - 1] Andrey Lavrik
46' [0 - 2] Vitaliy Buliga
90' [1 - 2] Tamerlan Varziev
0 - 0
1 - 0
76' [1 - 0] Jose Ivanildu de Sousa
Robertas Poškus was not registered for the match;
1 - 0
3 - 1
9' [1 - 0] Dmitryi Sychev
63' [1 - 1] Sergey Kormiltsev
64' [2 - 1] Dmitriy Loskov
87' [3 - 1] Dmitriy Khokhlov
Deividas Česnauskis watched the matches from the Lokomotiv reserve bench;
Mantas Samusiovas played for Torpedo until the 81st minute;
1 - 0
17' [1 - 0] Iso Kanenda
0 - 2
35' [0 - 1] Daniel Montenegro
48' [0 - 2] Alexey Medvedev
2 - 3
22' [0 - 1] Maxim Beleckiy
42' [1 - 1] Igor Denisov
65' [1 - 2] Aleksey Melshin
85' [1 - 3] Budun Budunov
90' [2 - 3] Lukas Gartig
