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Unsuccessful 20th round match for the leader of the Russian "Premier" Championship "CSKA" - the defending champions "army men" lost in the Moscow derby to their closest competitor in the battle for the gold medals "Lokomotiv" and suffered their fourth defeat this season, allowing the other capital club "Spartak" to get closer. Meanwhile, "Dynamo" with two Lithuanians in their ranks had to admit the superiority of "Rostov".
Before this round, Moscow's "CSKA" had a four-point advantage over their city neighbors "Lokomotiv" and a victory for Valery Gazzaev's proteges would have allowed them to pull away from the pursuers at the end of the championship, but the match started more successfully for the visitors and 20 minutes in, Dmitry Sychev scored for the "railwaymen".
In the 36th minute, Brazilian legionary Dudu equalized the score for "CSKA", but soon after a quick counterattack and a precise pass from D. Sychev from the wing, Marat Izmailov restored Lokomotiv's advantage with a precise strike. Since the score did not change until the end of the match, the visiting team celebrated the victory and reduced the gap from the leader to one point. Among the losers, Deividas Šemberas remained on the bench.
Another Moscow club, "Spartak", is two points behind "CSKA", as they convincingly defeated Kazan's "Rubin" with a 3-0 victory with goals from Roman Pavlyuchenko, Vladimir Bystrov, and Yegor Titov.
In a crucial match for survival, Moscow's "Dynamo" suffered defeat. Malawian Esau Kanyenda scored twice against Žydrūnas Karčemarskas in the 15th and 26th minutes, and a successful penalty kick by Maksim Romaschenko in the 76th minute sealed the defeat for the "policemen", including Robertas Poškus among their ranks.
Saturday's 20th round match results:
CSKA 1 - 2 Lokomotiv
20' [0 - 1] Dmitry Sychev
36' [1 - 1] Dudu Cearense
39' [1 - 2] Marat Izmailov
Semberas ("CSKA") did not appear on the field.
Dynamo 1 - 2 Rostov
15' [1 - 0] Esau Kanyenda
27' [2 - 0] Esau Kanyenda
76' [2 - 1] Maksim Romaschenko
Karčemarskas played the entire match, Poškus ("Dynamo") until the 70th minute.
Spartak 3 - 0 Rubin
45' [1 - 0] Roman Pavlyuchenko (pen.)
50' [2 - 0] Vladimir Bystrov
54' [3 - 0] Yegor Titov
Dedura ("Spartak") was not registered for the match.
Tournament table:
