Spartak, Zenit keep pressure on Rubin at top of Russian league

© RIA Novosti . Федоренко ВладимирSpartak, Zenit keep pressure on Rubin at top of Russian league
Spartak, Zenit keep pressure on Rubin at top of Russian league  - Sputnik International
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Spartak Moscow cut Rubin's lead at the top of the Russian Premier League back to a point with a convincing 3-0 win against Lokomotiv Moscow, who had lost just one of their previous 12 games.

MOSCOW, October 19 (RIA Novosti) - Spartak Moscow cut Rubin's lead at the top of the Russian Premier League back to a point with a convincing 3-0 win against Lokomotiv Moscow, who had lost just one of their previous 12 games.

Zenit St. Petersburg also won on Sunday, winning their sixth-straight game to move back into the top three, four points behind defending champions Rubin, who beat bottom club Khimki 2-1 on Saturday for their first win since they began their debut Champions League campaign in mid-September.

Spartak produced one of their best performances of the season to beat Lokomotiv, the win all the sweeter for a first goal for Georgian starlet Zhano Ananidze just eight days after he turned 17. Making only his second league start, the teenager opened the scoring in the 40th minute, becoming the youngest-ever scorer in the Russian Premier League.

League top-scorer Welliton made it 2-0 just after the hour while former Arsenal forward Quincy Owusu-Abeyie sealed the victory with six minutes remaining.

Zenit recorded a routine 2-0 win in Krasnodar against Kuban, with goals from Italian midfielder Alessandro Rosina and Vladimir Bystrov in each half.

In Kazan on Saturday, Rubin effectively sealed Khimki's relegation. With five games to go in the season, the Moscow region side is 15 points behind third-bottom Spartak Nalchik, who put a dent in CSKA Moscow's title hopes by holding the 2006 champions to a 1-1 draw in the North Caucasus.

The 2-1 defeat of Khimki was Rubin's first win in four league games since September 12, when a 5-1 win over Saturn capped a run of six straight wins by an aggregate of 20-2. Their Champions League campaign continues on Tuesday with a visit to holders Barcelona.

CSKA host Manchester United on Wednesday, while Spartak and Zenit can look forward to next weekend's games at Khimki and against Spartak Nalchik.

With Tom Tomsk's win in Moscow over Dynamo, the fight to avoid joining Khimki in the First Division looks to be between Kuban - who could move out of the bottom two with a home win over Dynamo on Sunday - Spartak Nalchik and Amkar, who lost 2-0 to Moscow Region side Saturn on Saturday and host Tom Tomsk next weekend.

Results

Spartak Nalchik 1-1 CSKA Moscow

Rubin 2-1 Khimki

Spartak Moscow 3-0 Lokomotiv Moscow

FC Moskva 2-1 Krylya Sovetov

Kuban 0-2 Zenit St. Petersburg

Saturn 2-0 Amkar

Dynamo Moscow 0-1 Tom Tomsk

Terek Grozny 1-0 Rostov

Table (after 25 games)

Rubin - 50

Spartak Moscow - 49

Zenit St. Petersburg - 46

CSKA Moscow - 43

FC Moskva - 41

Lokomotiv Moscow - 41

Saturn - 35

Dynamo Moscow - 34

Terek Grozny - 33

Tom Tomsk - 31

Rostov - 31

Krylya Sovetov - 30

Amkar - 27

Spartak Nalchik - 25

Kuban - 23

Khimki - 10

 

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