Hulk's brace ensured Andre Villas-Boas' Zenit reign got
under way with a win as they beat Krylya Sovetov 2-1 on Monday.
The Portuguese took over as Zenit head coach last
Thursday, and saw his charges keep their title hopes alive as Hulk scored early
in both halves at the Stadion Petrovskij.
Villas-Boas was forced to endure some uncomfortable
moments, though, as Ibragim Tsallagov pulled a goal back on 54 minutes before
Luis Caballero failed to convert two penalties as the visitors let Zenit off
the hook.
The narrow win keeps Zenit within three points of leaders
Lokomotiv Moscow after the pacesetters proved too strong for strugglers Ural on
Saturday.
Aleksandr Belozerov's own goal and a Dame N'Doye effort
had the hosts two goals to the good after just 14 minutes, before Sergey
Tkachev added a third 13 minutes from time, with Belozerov's miserable day
completed thanks to a second yellow card late on.
Zenit are now firm favourites for a return to the
Champions League at least, however, after both Spartak and Dinamo Moscow failed
to pick up maximum points.
Ari's hat-trick, along with a goal from Wanderson, saw
Spartak comprehensively beaten by Krasnodar on Saturday, while Dinamo were held
to a goalless draw by Rubin Kazan 24 hours later.
With Zenit second on 44 points, Moscow neighbours
Spartak, Dinamo and CSKA all sit level on 40 in the UEFA Europa League spots
after the latter comfortably brushed aside bottom-placed Anzhi Makhachkala.
Seydou Doumbia struck a brace in their 3-0 win at the
Anzhi-Arena on Monday while, elsewhere at the wrong end of the table, Tom
Tomsk' and Terek Grozny have renewed hope of beating the drop following
potentially crucial victories.
Tomsk' left it late to secure a 1-0 win over Volga - Jan
Holenda scoring in the 90th minute to condemn Volga to a fifth straight league
defeat and 10th game without a win.
Vasiliy Baskakov's charges now sit 12th and, while Terek
Grozny remain in the relegation play-off spots, their third win in four games
gives them a fighting chance of staying in the top tier.
Ailton Almeida and Marcin Komorowski got the crucial
goals in a 2-1 win over Kuban Krasnodar while Amkar Perm were held at Rostov on
Friday, despite leading 3-1 with two minutes of normal time remaining.
Having seen Amkar's Jakub Wawrzyniak sent off, the hosts
utilised their numerical advantage as Artem Dzyuba and Vitaliy Djakov scored at
the death to snatch a point and derail the visitors' Europa League push.
Culled from Soccerway
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