Spartak and Zenit victorious in Russia

The Russian championship remains far from decided as both Spartak Moscow and Zenit St Petersburg won their matches on Sunday.

As league leaders Rubin Kazan beat FK Khimki a day earlier, Spartak and Zenit knew that a victory was necessary for them to keep the top spot in sight.

Spartak convinced in the Moscow derby with Lokomotiv, where Zhano Ananidze scored the opening goal in the 40th minute. Welliton made it 2-0 two minutes after the hour and Quincy Owusu-Abeyie netted a third with four minutes to go in regular time.

Zenit St Petersburg earned a rather clinical 0-2 win at Kuban Krasnodat. Alessandro Rosina opened the score in the 26th minute and Vladimir Bystrov found the target shortly after half time.

Rubin keep a one-point lead over Spartak, and Zenit follow at another three points. There are five match rounds left to go in the league.