Zenit maintained their position at the summit of the league table with a hard-fought 1-0 victory at home against Orenburg last Sunday, keeping a comfortable four-point lead over second-placed Krasnodar.
Their previous encounter with Rubin Kazan in the Russian Premier League (RPL) back in September saw the blue-white-sky blues clinch a resounding 3-0 away victory.
The home team kicked off the match with relentless attacking intent. Claudinho, Mateo Cassierra, and Nuraly Alip tested the opposition's goal with a trio of shots in the opening minutes, only to be denied by Rubin's vigilant goalkeeper Yuri Dyupin, who remained on high alert throughout the first half courtesy of Zenit's relentless offensive pressure.
Rubin posed a solitary threat in the 19th minute when Zenit's goalkeeper Mikhail Kerzhakov parried Aleksandr Zotov's long-range effort.
The blue-white-sky blues dictated play in the first half with precise passing and strategic long balls. They asserted dominance and maintained greater possession compared to the visiting side. However, their efforts were fruitless as they failed to convert their chances and entered the halftime break tied 0-0.
The visitors broke the deadlock in the 50th minute when Mirlind Daku buried his right-footed shot into the bottom left corner from inside the 18-yard box. Rubin took a 1-0 lead.
Rubin doubled their advantage in the 67th minute of play. Aleksandr Martynovich's shot, assisted by Mirlind Daku, found the low right corner of the Zenit net after a corner kick and gave the visitors a commanding 2-0 lead over Sergei Semak's men.
A one-sided scoreline only told part of the story of the second half. Despite conceding the second goal, Zenit continued to dominate possession and began loading the ball into the penalty area as they persistently sought to rally back. The home side's last significant chance came five minutes into stoppage time as Strahinja Erakovic's attempt inside the box was blocked.
The match ended in a 0-2 defeat for the blue-white-sky blues, marking their first loss of 2024. With Krasnodar's 3-2 victory over Baltika, Zenit now holds only a one-point lead at the top of the RPL standings with five fixtures remaining.
The Russian champion’s next match is away against Dynamo Moscow at VTB Arena on Sunday, 28 April, in the 26th round of the RPL. Kick-off is at 7.15pm St. Petersburg time. Tickets are available here.
