Twelve teams battle in Russian Premier League

CSKA and Spartak Moscow both earned 3-2 wins to stay level on points at the top of the table. Russian Premier League players had a busy time on Sunday, with 12 of the16 teams in action.

The local derby saw Dynamo Moscow host second place CSKA. The visitors opened the scoring when Vagner Love made it past the keeper. Ivica Olic made the action with a goal in the forty-eighth minute. Derley cut the deficit for the home team to 2-1 but Love's second, six minutes later, re-established CSKA's advantage. Derley gave Dynamo hope with another, 15 minutes from time, and came close in the last few minutes. CSKA held on for a 3-2 win.

Bottom of the league, Shinnik managed a 1-1 draw with Torpedo.  There was no score in the Amkar-Rubin game. Luch Energiya pulled off a surprise 1-0 win over third place Spartak Nalchik, while Lokomotiv won 2-1 away from home. The day's last game saw top-of-the-table Spartak host Krylya Sovetov.

The home team came out all guns blazing, netting their first after only three minutes. The visitors hit back three minutes from half-time when David Mudzhiri found the back of the net. Second-half goals from Fernando Kavenagi and Alexei Skvernyuk kept scores level but Spartak were not to be denied. Effort from Radoslav Kovac sealed three points.

Spartak’s win keeps them ahead of CSKA on goal difference, with Spartak Nalchik in third place, ahead of Krylya Sovetov.