The matches of the 20th day of the Russian first division championship played today offered their lots of surprises. Zenith Saint Petersburg, forced to draw on its lawn, retains its leadership position. Defeated, CSKA Moscow misses the opportunity to catch up with its Zenitian counterpart. Large winner of Arsenal Tula, FC Sochi gains a place in the standings.
On the road to face Zenit Saint Petersburg in Matchday 20 of the Russian Premier League, FC Rostov managed to snatch the draw point. The visitors, authors of a good first period, lead to the break thanks to a realization of Ali Sowe in the 44th minute. Reduced to 10 in the 56th minute, FC Rostov will see Zenith come back to the game.
In 4 minutes, the Zénitiens turned the tide and regained the advantage thanks to a goal scored against his camp by Nikolai Poyarkov (73rd) and another signed Daler Kuzyaev (77th). The Zenith believed to hold its victory, but was joined in the last minutes of the match. In the 89th, Ali Sowe, signs the double and offers the point of draw to his team. Braked, the Zenith remains the leader with 42 points. FC Rostov is 5th and has 33 points.
Dauphin, CSKA Moscow was away this afternoon to challenge Lokomotiv Moscow, in a thrilling derby. The Koni, who had the opportunity to get closer to the Zenith in case of victory, completely missed out on their match. Surprised, they were led 2-0 at the break thanks to goals from Vitali Lisakovich (6th) and Grzegorz Krychowiak (41st). In the second period, CSKA Moscow, still uninspired, will not be able to catch up. Nikola Vlasic even missed a penalty in the 73rd minute. Defeated, the men of the army retain second place with 37 points. Lokomotiv Moscow, victorious, gains two places and is now 6th with 31 points.
In other matches, FC Sochi achieved the card of the day at home by throwing Arsenal Tula (4-0). Uncompromising, Sochi now occupies 3rd place with 36 points. Arsenal Tula, 13th with 14 points, still remains in the zone of the relegation play-offs.
FK Khimki also performed well by winning ahead of FC Oufa (2-1). With this success, Khimki jumped 2 places and occupies 9th place with 28 points.
• Match results of the day
FK Khimki 2-1 FC Ufa
Zenit St. Petersburg 2-2 FC Rostov
FC Sotchi 4-0 Arsenal Tula
Lokomotiv Moscow 2-0 CSKA Moscow
–
