Russian football: Rubin go top as big guns falter

Russian Champions Zenit have dropped points for the second week in a row as they threw away a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with lowly Shinnik. Last year's runners-up, Spartak Moscow, were also victims of a last-minute equaliser from Amkar of Perm. With the big gu

The St Petersburg men were still on a high after thrashing Bayer Leverkusen 4-1 in Thursday's UEFA Cup quarter-final. Pavel Pogrebnyak put them one up after 42 minutes. Then Pogrebnyak earned a dubious penalty for Zenit two minutes later. Anatoliy Timoschuk did the rest. But if that penalty award was controversial, then so too was the one that brought Shinnik back into the game. Buznikin slotted home the spotkick. Boyarintsev then got a 90th-minute equaliser to make the final score 2-2. So Zenit are now ninth in the table with just five points from four games.

Spartak Moscow could also earn only a draw in their match with Amkar. The Muscovites took the lead through their Russian international striker Roman Pavlychenko. The visitors left it till the last possible moment before they struck back. Inyants did the damage to keep up the Perm side's promising start to the season – they're fourth – while Spartak are only eighth.

Meanwhile, Dinamo Moscow went second in the table with a 2-0 win over Spartak Nalchik. Aleksandr Dimidko put them ahead midway through the second half after a spot of head tennis and a delightful assist helped Leandro Fernandez add a late second to seal victory.

In Samara, Andrey Tikhonov's stunning free-kick gave Krylya Sovetov the lead against Luch-Energia. But the Vladivostok side hit back when Igor Shevchenko equalised against his former club. However, a last-gasp effort by Aleksandr Belozerov gave Krylya the win.

On Saturday newly promoted Terek Grozhny shocked Moscow giants CSKA 1-0 to secure back-to-back wins. Vladimir Kuzmichev scored the game's only goal in the 65th minute. So Terek make it two wins from four games, while CSKA miss the chance to go top.

Rubin Kazan are now three points clear of the chasing pack following their 2-1 win over FC Tom, while Lokomotiv Moscow go third after turning a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 victory at Saturn.

So after four games Rubin are the surprise leaders – with a 100% record.