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In the Russian "Premier" League, the matches of the 26th round were played over the weekend, after which the intrigue is increasing as there is a tie at the top of the standings. The long-time leader of the championship, "Lokomotiv", which continues to collect points, was surpassed by the "CSKA" club, while the match between "Spartak" and "Zenit" fighting for the third place ended in a draw. It was a special round for Lithuanians - A. Skerla scored a goal, A. Gedgaudas made his debut in Russia, while N. Barasa returned to play after an injury.
Following the injury of their attacking leader D. Syčiovas, the struggling Russian champion Moscow "Lokomotiv" this time failed to win at home against Yaroslavl "Shinnik" and played to a goalless draw. Meanwhile, another capital club, "CSKA" with D. Šembera, won against Kazan "Rubin" with goals from C. Odiah and S. Ignashevich, and collected 50 points equalizing with "Lokomotiv" and surpassing them in goal difference.
In the central match of the round in Moscow, the local "Spartak" and St. Petersburg "Zenit" clubs, who were tied for third place, faced each other. Despite the presence of 30 thousand spectators, the hosts failed to take advantage of the opportunities they created.
The "Zenit" players tried to counterattack and after playing an hour, they succeeded - receiving a great pass on the flank, A. Kerzhakov accurately passed the ball to his attacking partner A. Arshavin, who then struck from a few meters to put his team ahead. However, with 10 minutes left until the end of the match, "Spartak" managed to equalize when the former "Zenit" player A. Bystrovas earned a penalty kick and it was converted by the Serbian N. Vidic, helping his team secure a point.
The opportunity to rise to fifth place was missed by the "Moscow" club, suffering a crushing defeat at home to "Krylja Sovetov". M. Topičius scored three goals for the winners, A. Bober added one, and D. Golubovas stood out for the visitors. In this match, recovering from an injury, Lithuanian N. Barasa appeared on the field for six minutes for the home team.
Tomsk's "Tom" club can practically celebrate remaining in the league, unexpectedly beating Perm's "Amkar" at home with a convincing score of 3-0. A. Skerla, a Lithuanian national team defender, led the "Tom" team forward, and later J. Kalešinas and B. Kruničius solidified the lead. In the 84th minute, another Lithuanian A. Gedgaudas made his debut in official matches after coming on as a substitute.
In other matches, Moscow's "Torpedo" broke "Saturn" at the end of the match after I. Semshov and A. Panov's goals, holding onto seventh place, while another capital club "Dynamo" moved up to eighth, winning 4-2 away against Vladikavkaz's "Alania". Three of the four goals for the "policemen" were scored by players from Portugal. Meanwhile, the absolute outsider position continues to be held by Grozny's "Terek", losing in a fierce battle to the "Rostov" team and practically having no hope of survival.
Next week awaits away matches against weaker teams for both leaders - "CSKA" will play against "Amkar", "Lokomotiv" will face "Alania". Interestingly, with four rounds left until the end of the season, the leading teams still have two derbies coming up, with "CSKA" playing against the already struggling "Dynamo", while "Lokomotiv" will face "Spartak", aiming for a high position.
Standings
26th round match statistics
3 - 0
64` [1 - 0] Andrius Skerla
68` [2 - 0] Evgeni Kaleshin
86` [3 - 0] Branislav Krunic
A. Skerla ("Tom") played the entire match, A. Gedgaudas ("Tom") from the 84th minute, A. Jankauskas ("Amkar") was not registered for the match
2 - 0
71` [1 - 0] Igor Semshov
90` [2 - 0] Aleksandr Panov
M. Samusiovas ("Torpedo") was not registered for the match, R. Džiaukštas ("Saturn") played the entire match
2 - 3
8` [0 - 1] Nikolai Olenikov
14` [0 - 2] Milos Kruscic
36` [1 - 2] Roman Adamov
50` [1 - 3] Maksim Buznikin
70` [2 - 3] Mvondo Atangana
1 - 1
59` [0 - 1] Andrey Arshavin
78` [1 - 1] Nemanja Vidic (11m.)
E. Majus and R. Poškus ("Zenit") were not registered for the match, I. Dedura ("Spartak") did not appear on the field
4 - 1
43` [1 - 0] Marco Topic
69` [2 - 0] Marco Topic
73` [3 - 0] Anton Bober
89` [3 - 1] Dmitri Golubov
90` [4 - 1] Marco Topic (11m.)
N. Barasa ("Krylja Sovetov") played from the 84th minute, E. Razulis ("Krylja Sovetov") was not registered for the match
2 - 4
18` [0 - 1] Alexandr Tochilin
34` [0 - 2] Derlei
49` [0 - 3] Jorge Ribeiro
73` [1 - 3] Spartak Gogniev
81` [1 - 4] Maniche
87` [2 - 4] Sergey Dadu (11m.)
D. Žutautas ("Alania") was not registered for the match, Ž. Karčemarskas ("Dynamo") did not appear on the field
2 - 1
11` [1 - 0] Chidi Odiah
51` [2 - 0] Sergey Ignashevich
68` [2 - 1] Aleksandr Bukharov
D. Šemberas ("CSKA") played the entire match, O. Buitkus ("Rubin") was not registered for the match
0 - 0
