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This weekend in Russia, the regular matches of the 8th round were played, after which the sole leader of the championship became the "Rubin" club, taking advantage of the failure of the "Tom" club in Samara. The defending champions "CSKA" returned to the path of victories, while "Lokomotiv" and "Spartak" continue their resurgence. Meanwhile, newcomers "Luch-Energia" and "Spartak Nalchik" continue to surprise. The first teams to take the field this weekend were the players of "Krylya Sovetov" from Samara and "Tom" from Tomsk. The first half was marked by a plethora of opportunities near the "Tom" goal, while the "Tom" players tried to attack through the center, but the half ended goalless. In the second half, with the help of the host Andrei Kanchelskis (it is worth mentioning that this player is 37 years old), finally converted one of their dangerous chances. The visitors managed to equalize the score four minutes later, but that was all they could show in this match. Soon after, Samara's legionnaire Marko Topich scored, and towards the end of the match, he earned a penalty kick, which was not converted, so the hosts won 2-1. In Moscow, the country's champion "CSKA" met with the mid-table team "Amkar" from Perm. The visitors in this match aimed for at least a draw, but the Moscow "CSKA" players had different plans and won 2-0. The CSKA sniper Jo scored twice, bringing his tally to 10 goals. In another match of this round, Rostov's "Rostov" and Ramenskoye's "Saturn" clashed. The first goal was scored in the fourth minute by "Saturn's" legionnaire from Paraguay, Freddy Bareiro. "Rostov" failed to make an impact in attack and could not create any dangerous moments, while in the second half, "Saturn" scored their second goal and won 2-0. In the central match of the round, Moscow's "Lokomotiv" met with St. Petersburg's "Zenit". The match started very successfully for the hosts, and within just ten minutes, thanks to goals from Dramane Traore and Dmitry Sychev, "Lokomotiv" took a 2-0 lead. In the 17th minute, Aleksandr Kerzhakov could have equalized the game with a penalty kick, but he missed it. In the second half, "Lokomotiv" decided to maintain the current score and retreat, while "Zenit" did not oppose this course of events. Everything became clear when "Zenit's" defender Martin Skrtel was sent off the field with a second yellow card. As the match neared its end, both teams scored goals, with "Lokomotiv" winning 3-1. It seems that "Lokomotiv" is gaining momentum, while "Zenit" is experiencing a crisis following the departure of head coach V. Petrzela. In Vladivostok, the local team "Luch-Energia" faced Yaroslavl's "Shinnik". The wet pitch didn't allow for a beautiful display of football, no matter how much both teams' players tried. The only goal to the "Shinnik" goal was scored in the second half after a penalty kick. The "Luch" team won 1-0, earning their second victory in the Russian Premier League. In Kazan, the local team "Rubin" met with Moscow's "Moscow". Traditionally, Moscow teams do not perform well in Kazan, and "Moscow" was no exception - their attacking players struggled, and they tried to win with long-range shots, which did not lead to any result - the first half ended goalless. In the second half, Rubin featured a hero of the match against "CSKA", Alexander Bukharov, who scored the first goal for the team in the 67th minute and secured a victory with a second goal. Rubin won 2-0 against "Moscow" and became the sole leader of the tournament table. Moscow's "Spartak", with an interim coach at the helm, faced Moscow's "Torpedo", which could not find their game and seems to only fight for survival this season. The game at the start of the first half looked chaotic. "Torpedo", seemingly afraid to attack, resorted to positional attacks, and only halfway through the half did the game pick up. The first goal was scored in the 34th minute when Vladimir Bystrov passed to the penalty area, Radoslav Kovach found Nikita Bazhenov, who shot goalwards, hitting the crossbar on the first attempt but managed to send the rebound into the net. After the goal, "Spartak" created a few more dangerous attacks but did not score. The second half started with attacks from "Spartak", and only as the match ended did the home team manage to score a second goal, while the "Torpedo" players struggled in attack and conceded a second goal, accepting defeat. "Spartak" celebrated their 2-0 victory. In the last match of the round, Nalchik's "Spartak" faced Moscow's "Dynamo". The hosts won 1-0 after Alexander Sheshukov's goal in the middle of the second half, continuing to impress with their performances in the elite league, while "Dynamo" suffered another defeat this season, dropping to the bottom of the tournament table.
8th round statistics:
"Tom" 2 - 1 "Krylya Sovetov"
54’ [1 - 0] Andrej Kančelskis
58’ [1 - 1] Andrej Diomkin
71’ [2 - 1] Marko Topič
84’ A.Gusin ("Krylja Sovetov”) missed an 11m penalty.
Player E. Raziulis ("Krylja Sovetov”) was not registered for the match, while A.Skerla ("Tom”) was registered but did not appear in the match.
"CSKA" 2 - 0 "Amkar"
12’ [1 - 0] Jo
75’ [2 - 0] Jo
73’ A.Lavrik ("Amkar”) was sent off after a second yellow card.
Player D.Šemberas ("CSKA”) played from the 68th minute.
"Rostov" 0 - 2 "Saturn"
4’ [0 - 1] Fredi Bareiro
58’ [0 - 2] Aleksej Jeriomenko
49’ Iso Kanienda ("Rostov”) was sent off after a second yellow card.
Player R.Džiaukštas ("Saturn”) played the full match, while E.Česnauskis ("Saturn”) appeared in the 57th minute.
"Lokomotiv" 3 - 1 "Zenit"
4’ [1 - 0] Dramane Traore
10’ [2 - 0] Dmitriy Sychiov
89’ [3 - 0] Dmitriy Loskov
90’ [3 - 1] Igor Denisov (11m)
17’ A.Kerzhakov ("Zenit”) missed an 11m penalty.
80’ M.Škrtel ("Zenit”) was sent off.
Player E.Majus ("Zenit”) was not registered for the match.
"Rubin" 2 - 0 "Moscow"
67’ [1 - 0] Aleksandr Bucharov
90’ [2 - 0] Aleksandr Bucharov
"Spartak" 2 - 0 "Torpedo"
34’ [1 - 0] Nikita Bazhenov
86’ [2 - 0] Roman Pavliuchenko
Player I.Dedura ("Spartak”) was not registered for the match.
"Luch-Energia" 1 - 0 "Shinnik"
84’ [1 - 0] Sergej Serdiukov
Player Ž.Karčemarskas ("Dinamo”) was registered for the match but did not appear on the field.
Tournament table:
