Zenit beat Saturn at empty Petrovsky stadium

Zenit St Petersburg have broken the opposition of Saturn Ramenskoe in the second match day of the Russian Premier League, and grabbed their first win of the season.

In a tough and tenacious game Zenit made the most of their chances. They scored twice through defenseman Ivica Križanac and forward Fatih Tekke, while Saturn could counter only once with a Marco Topic shot.

The game was played at the Petrovsky stadium in St Petersburg without fans. Back in November, 2008, the Premier League authorities imposed sanctions on the St Pete’s side after Zenit fans displayed a banner, during a game against Dinamo Moscow, which profaned the memory of Lev Yashin, one of the greatest goalkeepers in the history of football, who spent most of his career at Dinamo.

“Your Yashin died, your Dinamo will die too,” the banner said. It shocked not only Russian football authorities but also the fans of all other Premier League teams.

The incident grew into a major scandal and once again raised the question of fan behaviour in Russian stadiums.

A few days later Zenit’s fans officially apologized for this incident.

Spartak Nalchik 0 – 0 Rubin

Also on Sunday, holders Rubin checked Spartak Nalchik for strength.

Rubin took the domestic crown last season mainly on the back of grinding out wins against the so-called weaker teams.

The side from Kazan hopes to follow a similar pattern this season, but a scoreless draw against Spartak Nalchik has shortened their perfect start to the season.

Gurban Berdyiev's charges make their Champions League debut later this year.

Rostov 1-1 Lokomotiv Moscow

Meanwhile, Lokomotiv Moscow were hoping to jumpstart their campaign away to newly promoted Rostov in the final game of the day. But the railway men have again failed to muster a victory, and in fact needed a late goal to nab a share of the spoils.


In the last game of the match day, which will be held on Monday, CSKA Moscow will receive Tom in Moscow’s Luzhniki.