The key facts
- Zenit — Rostov 2:2: goals from Douglas Santos and Luis Henrique against Andrade's own goal and Komarov's strike
- Zenit, with 31 points, returned to first place; Dynamo have the same number of points
- Alexander Sobolev started the match after being left out of the Russia squad
A 2:2 draw at the Gazprom Arena
In the 14th round of the Russian Premier League, St. Petersburg's Zenit played out a 2:2 draw with Rostov. The match took place at the Gazprom Arena in St. Petersburg, with Stanislav Matveyev from Troitsk serving as the referee, and Gazeta ran a live text broadcast of the game.
Course of the match
The hosts opened the scoring in the 15th minute: captain Douglas Santos headed in a free-kick delivery. After the break the situation turned around — in the 53rd minute Zenit defender Kevin Andrade put the ball into his own net, but just five minutes later Luis Henrique fired a long-range shot into the top corner to put the hosts back in front. The final word came in the 83rd minute from Rostov midfielder Ivan Komarov, who restored parity. Thus, Zenit twice lost their lead and let the victory slip away in the closing stages.
League standings
Despite dropping two points, Zenit earned their 31st point and returned to the top of the RPL table. According to Gazeta.Ru, second-placed Dynamo Moscow have the same number of points, meaning the lead at the top is minimal. Rostov, with 19 points, sit in sixth place. In the next round, Zenit will play away against Kazan's Rubin on November 21, while Rostov will host Samara's Krylia Sovetov a day earlier. In another match of the round, Krasnodar beat CSKA 4:2, ending their winless streak.
Sobolev in the starting lineup
Notably, Zenit striker Alexander Sobolev started the match. As Life.rureports, Russia head coach Valery Karpin previously explained the player's absence from the national team squad by his health condition; in November the Russians are set to play friendlies, including against Uzbekistan and Venezuela.
