Lokomotiv beat Spartak to to keep tabs on CSKA
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Two-time former champions Lokomotiv Moscow edged city rivals Spartak 2-1 on Sunday to narrow the gap to Russian Premier League leaders CSKA Moscow.
Goals from midfielder Alexander Kolomeitsev and Senegalese forward Baye Oumar Niasse set the railway-backed side on their way to a hard-fought win, which left them in second, five points behind CSKA, who beat Ural 3-1 on Saturday.
Reigning champions Zenit St Petersburg, who were held to a 2-2 draw at Kuban Krasnodar, sit third, five points further back.
Lokomotiv got off to a lively start through Kolomeitsev, who scored with a diving header off a short cross by Alexander Samedov in the ninth minute.
In the 19th minute Serbian full-back Nemanja Pejcinovic missed a chance to increase Lokomotiv's advantage as his close-range header hit the woodwork and bounced back into play.
Spartak replied with an attempt by Alexander Zotov in the 35th minute but it was confidently dealt with by Lokomotiv goalkeeper Marinato Guilherme.
Niasse made it 2-0 for the railwaymen four minutes after the interval, beating Spartak goalie Artem Rebrov with a powerful shot from 22 yards out.
Italian centre-back Salvatore Bocchetti pulled one back with 13 minutes to go when he scored his first goal for Spartak, redirecting the right-wing cross by Aras Ozbiliz into the net.
"We planned to put Spartak under pressure from the start and it worked well as we scored early goals in both halves," Lokomotiv manager Igor Cherevchenko said.
"In the late stages Spartak took the initiative but we defended well and kept our lead. I think we won deservedly today."
Elsewhere, last season's third place finishers FC Krasnodar, who have struggled this season, played out a 2-2 draw at Anzhi Makhachkala to extend their winless series to four games.
Portuguese forward Hugo Almeida put Anzhi 1-0 up in the 15th minute, sweeping home a rebound after Krasnodar keeper Andrei Sinitsyn parried an initial shot by Yannick Boli.
The latter scored a fine individual effort five minutes before the break.
But after the interval, Krasnodar upped the tempo and levelled through Colombian midfielder Ricardo Laborde and Brazilian forward Ari, who scored within a minute of each other.