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Over the weekend, the regular round of matches took place in the Russian Premier League. In four matches, the hosts won 1-0, two ended in a draw, and two were won by the away teams.
The central match of the round took place in St. Petersburg. The local "Zenit" met the nine-time Russian champions from Moscow, "Spartak". "Zenit" dominated the game, but at the beginning of the second half, they conceded a rare counterattack from "Spartak" and found themselves trailing from the 59th minute. As the match was coming to an end, it seemed like "Spartak" would win over "Zenit" in St. Petersburg for the first time since 2002, but A. Kerzhakov equalized the score in the 85th minute.
Last year's Russian Premier League champions from Moscow, "Lokomotiv," had a more successful trip to Yaroslavl. However, even the current champions faced difficulties. The first goal was scored in the 79th minute to their own net by the "Shinnik" player M. Starostyak, and ten minutes later, "Lokomotiv" secured a 0-2 victory with a goal from D. Loskov, thus the "railroaders" secured first place in the league standings.
Moscow's "Dinamo" is gradually collecting points under the temporary leadership of head coach A. Kobelev. This time in Moscow, they defeated "Alania". The 1-0 result does not reflect the course of the match, where "Dinamo" players dominated the field.
The positions of the teams "Saturn" from Ramenskoye and "Torpedo" from Moscow promised an interesting battle on the league table, but the opponents who gathered showed defensive football without sharper moments in the first half. Nevertheless, after V. Yesipov scored in the 78th minute, it helped the "Saturn" team to snatch a victory.
In Kazan, "CSKA" had to face the average team of the league, "Rubin", but everything turned in the opposite direction when in the 30th minute, the "Rubin" player T. Chizhek scored a goal for his team. After this goal, the "CSKA" players tried to equalize the score. After the first half, the UEFA Cup final hero R. Carvalho was sent onto the field, but these steps did not help, and the match ended with an unexpected 1-0 victory for "Rubin".
In Rostov, "Rostov" faced "Terek" from Grozny. In these matches, which lacked sharper moments, the "Rostov" players won by a minimal score, marking their first victory in 11 rounds of the Russian Premier League. Meanwhile, "Amkar" from Perm could not defeat "Tom" players who had lost three times in a row and had to settle for a goalless draw.
In Moscow, the "Moskva" club faced the struggling team "Krylja Sovetov" from Samara. In case of a victory, "Moskva" could rise to the second position in the league table. "Moskva," who controlled the game throughout the first half, did not seem as powerful in the second half and at the end of the match conceded a goal from "Krylja Sovetov", where O. Koroman intruded into the penalty area of "Moskva". To stop the opponent, R. Džiaukštas fouled him, and the referee awarded a penalty kick, which was successfully converted by former Dynamo Kyiv player A. Gusinas, who secured the victory for the away team.
Round 11 Statistics:
1 - 1
59’ [0 - 1] Roman Pavliuchenko
85’ [1 - 1] Aleksandr Kerzhakov
E. Majus ("Zenit") was not registered, I. Dedura ("Spartak") played the full match.
0 - 2
79’ [0 - 1] Mikhail Starostyak (own goal)
89’ [0 - 2] Dmitiy Loskov
0 - 0
A. Jankauskas ("Amkar") was not registered for the match.
1 - 0
29’ [1 - 0] Derlei
39’ Derlei missed a penalty kick.
Ž. Karčemarskas ("Dinamo") was registered for the match but did not appear on the field. D. Žutautas ("Alania") played the full match, N. Barasa ("Alania") was not registered for the match.
1 - 0
78’ [1 - 0] Valeriy Jesipov
M. Samusiovas ("Torpedo") was registered for the match but did not appear on the field.
1 - 0
30’ [1 - 0] Tomash Chizhek
O. Buitkus ("Rubin") played from the 86th minute. D. Šemberas ("CSKA") played the full match.
1 - 0
71’ [1 - 0] Mikhail Osinov (penalty kick)
0 - 1
88’ [0 - 1] Andrey Gusin
R. Džiaukštas ("Moskva") and R. Poškus ("Krylja Sovetov") played the full match. E. Raziulis ("Krylja Sovetov") was not registered for the match.
