Krylya creep into top spot

For the second week running, FC Krylya Sovietov Samara recorded a 4-1 victory against a team languishing in the wrong half of the table as the Russian Premier League title race gathered pace at the weekend.

Comprehensive victory
Following last week's win at FC Alania Vladikavkaz, in-form Krylya beat FC Dinamo Moskva by an identical scoreline at the Metallurg stadium. Robertas Poskus and Andrei Kariaka again found the net before Aleksandr Anyukov added a third on 62 minutes. Radoslav Batak scored a late consolation but Sergei Vinogradov restored the home side's three-goal cushion in injury time.

Late equaliser
The result saw them rise to the top of the table as previous leaders FC Lokomotiv Moskva could only draw against FC Rostov. It could have been worse for Lokomotiv, who were trailing to a Milos Kruscic goal before Dmitri Sychev salvaged a point with ten minutes remaining. The result leaves them second, a point behind Krylya.

Olic opener
In Friday's game, PFC CSKA Moskva hammered another nail into SC Rotor Volgograd's relegation coffin with a 3-0 win. Rotor had been hopeful of building upon last week's draw against FC Amkar Perm, which had gained them only their eighth point of the season, but after Ivica Olic's early opener, they never looked like sustaining a revival.

Off-target Torpedo
The win saw CSKA leapfrog city rivals FC Torpedo Moskva after Torpedo lost away against FC Rubin Kazan. Denis Boyarintsev gave the home side the lead on four minutes before Brazilian striker Rôni doubled the advantage after half-time as the struggling side won 2-0 to climb to tenth.

Zenit recovery
Front-runners FC Zenit St. Peterburg won by the same score as they bounced back from last week's shock defeat at the hands of FC Rostov by beating FC Spartak Moskva 2-0. Aleksandr Spivak converted a penalty after a quarter of an hour before Vladislav Radimov scored seven minutes later. There was no way back for Spartak.

Bazaev double
In the bottom half of the table, a Georgi Bazaev double gave Alania a two-goal victory against FC Kuban Krasnodar. The result put them a point ahead of FC Amkar Perm who lost 2-1 at FC Shinnik Yaroslav. Shinnik had to come from behind after Krzystof Lagiewka had put the ball into his own net early on. Second-half goals from Martin Kushev and Belarus international Aleksandr Kulchy saw them reverse the scoreline.

Local derby
Finally, the mid-table tussle between FC Moskva and FC Saturn Moskovskaya Oblast finished 2-1 in Moskva's favour as the two sides switched league places. Uruguayan Javier Delgado gave visitors Saturn the lead just before the half hour but within ten minutes they were behind after Mariusz Jop and Radu Rebeja both found the net for the home team.