CSKA beat champions Kazan to finish second

CSKA Moscow clinched runners-up spot in the Russian Premier League, thrashing newly-crowned champions Kazan 4-0 here on Sunday.

Kazan top the table with 60 points from 29 matches, four ahead of second-placed CSKA. Dynamo Moscow sit third on 51 point, leaving their chasers Perm only a slight mathematical chance of taking third with one match remaining.

The Red Army side dominated play from the start but suffered from a lack of killer instinct in front of goal, missing a hatful of scoring chances in the first half.

After the interval CSKA put more pressure on their rivals and opened the score in the 53rd minute.

CSKA Brazilian striker Vagner Love, who leads the league's scorers' contest, netted his 18th goal of the season with a 10-metre header from a right-flank cross of his Lithuanian teammate Davidas Semberas.

In the remaining time Vagner Love scored two more goals, beating Kazan defence on the breakaway on both occasions, to record a classic hat-trick, while Yury Zhirkov made it 4-0 for CSKA to secure their well-deserved win.

Dynamo Moscow, meanwhile, recorded a 1-1 away draw with last year's champions Zenit St Petersburg to stay in third place.

After a goalless first half Dynamo went into the lead in the 53rd minute through Argentinian full back Leandro Fernandeo, who fired home a ricochet after a corner.

Zenit Turkish striker Fatih Tekke pulled the scores level with 11 minutes to go, sending the ball into the net from the edge of the box due to a ricochet.

In the closing stages, Zenit created several more chances but failed to score the winning goal and dropped out of the race for a place at the podium.

Vladivostok and Yaroslavl were relegated and will be replaced by Rostov and Krasnodar nest season.