Russia round-up: CSKA send Spartak crashing

CSKA Moscow returned to winning ways with a convincing 3-0 win over the Russian Premier-Liga champions FC Spartak Moscow today.

Full house
In front of a capacity crowd the visitors struck the first blow when Sergei Semak picked out an unmarked Andrei Solomatin on the edge of the area. Solomatin's shot was saved by Dmitri Goncharov, but the ball broke free to the CSKA defender, who slotted the ball into the empty net. Rolan Gusev extended CSKA's lead five minutes before the break with a penalty after Semak was brought down in the area by Goncharov.

Rampant CSKA
With Spartak forced to come out and attack after the interval, CSKA quickly exploited the space to put the game beyond the home side. In the 53rd minute Gusev fed Yuris Laizans, who rounded a defender and beat Goncharov with a low shot into the far corner.

Pressure on
CSKA close the gap on the league leaders FC Lokomotiv Moscow to one point, while Spartak stay fourth.

Solitary goal
FC Torpedo-ZIL Moscow claimed only their second win of the season by beating FC Shinnik Yaroslavl 1-0, thanks to a Valeri Leonov header in the 32nd minute. Four minutes from time, Dmitri Smirnov nearly doubled Torpedo-ZIL's lead, but his shot hit the woodwork.