Goals rained in during a week when the only fixture between top-half sides saw ambitious Anzhi upset dashing Dynamo. All the rest were top-eight versus bottom-eight clashes with Loko’s win over FC Krasnodar putting daylight between those who will contest the Championship in the next stage, and the bottom half who will battle relegation.

KRYLIYA SOVETOV SAMARA 2 – 5 ZENIT ST. PETERSBURG

Hot on the heels of Dynamo v Terek last week, another crazy game here saw five goals in just twelve minutes. Danny got the ball rolling after 22 minutes with Shirokov doubling the lead and Yakovlev halving it before Lombaerts and Faizulin put Zenit 4-1 up after 34 minutes.

We then had to wait a whole 16 minutes before the next goal when the promising Spartak Moscow starlet Yakovlev, on loan again at Kryliya, notched his second, an absolute cracker, on 50 minutes.

Shirokov, on 77 minutes, completed the rout from the spot after Yakovlev was deemed, harshly, to have fouled Anyukov in the box. Zenit remain in second place while Kryliya stay bottom.

[vsw id="6Kcf3ZxGO6c" source="youtube" width="425" height="344" autoplay="no"]

CSKA MOSCOW 3 – 0 TOM TOMSK

CSKA’s Love-Doumbia strike partnership hadn’t produced a goal for three games prior to this but with Zenit keeping the pressure on, CSKA had to win to maintain their two-point lead at the top.

Tomsk were in poor form and an embezzlement investigation against their general director last week hadn’t done much for confidence, still, there was little they could do about CSKA’s opener – a glorious ball from Ignashevich released Dzagoev down the right who centred for Doumbia to finish from close-range.

A trademark free-kick from Honda, on 63 minutes, doubled the Armymen’s lead and Doumbia finished the game off after 68 minutes.

So CSKA remain in first place, while Tomsk are twelfth.

[vsw id="2kWQtNS_XNk" source="youtube" width="425" height="344" autoplay="no"]

ANZHI MAKHACHKALA 2 – 1 DYNAMO MOSCOW

Ambitious Anzhi secured a big result here, vanquishing the most adept Dynamo side that there’s been in a while.

That being said, dreadful defending by Granat and Lomic contrived to let Boussoufa in on goal and the ex-Chelsea man fired home on 22 minutes.

Voronin tucked-away his seventh of the season from close-range after 44 minutes to pull Dynamo level – despite Anzhi having Gaszhibekov down injured.

But ex-Spartak man, Prudnikov, won it for the home side on 71 minutes as he drifted between his markers to meet Ivanov’s cross and his effort trickled over the line.

Dynamo remain third but are now just two points ahead of Anzhi in fourth.

[vsw id="7nu0TrpIuEw" source="youtube" width="425" height="344" autoplay="no"]

KUBAN KRASNODAR 5 – 0 VOLGA NIZHNY NOVGOROD

All the talk before this game was of how bookies had stopped taking bets on Volga beating Kuban, leading to suspicions that Kuban were going throw the game.

Obviously, Dan Petrescu and his side had other ideas – or simply had not read the script – and duly battered their opponents. The towering Lacina Traore glancing in a header after 20 minutes to get things going.

The striker then muscled in another header on 45 minutes before Bucur put The Cossacks three-up after 53 minutes – yes, another header inside the box.

Komkov finally scored with a foot after 71 minutes, a good hooked shot on the turn, and, warming to the notion of scoring with the feet, Davidov slotted-in the fifth on 89 minutes. Kuban are now seventh and Volga thirteenth.

[vsw id="1TRmpVhyoVQ" source="youtube" width="425" height="344" autoplay="no"]

AMKAR PERM 1 – 1 RUBIN KAZAN

Chempionat.ru amusingly called these sides “emotionally restrained” – read: deadly dull. No surprise then that it finished a draw. Sekretov put Perm in front on 36 minutes but Kvirkvelia equalised with six minutes to go.

Amkar are now eleventh while Rubin are sixth.

[vsw id="XpzsrFOvQW4" source="youtube" width="425" height="344" autoplay="no"]

SPARTAK NALCHIK 1 – 1 SPARTAK MOSCOW

After a good display last week, Spartak Moscow could only register a disappointing result here as Goshokov gave Nalchik the lead with a superb header after 26 minutes.

But Dzyuba scored a header of his own to bring the confoundingly enigmatic Red-Whites level on 53 minutes. Nalchik fall to fifteenth, Spartak are up to fifth.

[vsw id="zSMTrA_h310" source="youtube" width="425" height="344" autoplay="no"]

LOKOMOTIV MOSCOW 1 – 0 FC KRASNODAR

With Loko in patchy form and Krasnodar unbeaten in five, the Railwaymen had a tough job but Denis Glushakov scored the decisive goal and it was a worthy winner - a really well executed shot with the outside of the right boot, curled into the far top corner from an acute angle. Lovely stuff.

Loko are now in eighth position, Krasnodar are ninth and a whole nine points off being in the all important top-eight who will compete for the title of Champions after the initial 30 games are up.

 [vsw id="QUBZ6zOtk_Y" source="youtube" width="425" height="344" autoplay="no"]

TEREK GROZNY 1 – 1 ROSTOV

Timofei Kalachev spanked Rostov into a lead with a booming 30-yarder after nine minutes only for team-mate, Razvan Cocis, to put through his own net on the stroke of full-time to give Terek a share of the spoils. Terek remain in tenth, Rostov fourteenth.

[vsw id="WnhhLOHoXh0" source="youtube" width="425" height="344" autoplay="no"]