Champions CSKA Moscow clinched top spot in the Russian league after a 2-0 win over the guests Zenit St Petersburg on Saturday.
CSKA moved on to 20 points after 11 matches, one clear of city rivals Spartak, Zenit and Samara, who share the second spot.
After a scoreless first half CSKA upped the tempo after the break.
They took the lead through Brazilian marksman Jo, who sent the ball into the net after skipper Sergei Ignashevich fed him to the six-yard box edge with a short header following a corner just before the one-hour mark.
In the 67th minute Jo netted his second of the match, firing in from just inside the box past helpless goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeyev to secure a well-deserved win.
Nine-time champions Spartak Moscow, who shared the league′s lead with Saint Petersburg going into this weekend′s matches, suffered their second consecutive defeat falling 3-0 at Khimki.
Khimki got off to a lively start with midfielder Roman Shirokov, who headed the ball home with a header from a well-served corner despite the close physical attention of Spartak skipper Martin Jiranek, when the game was just five minutes old.
In the 23rd minute the hosts′ forward Anton Arkhipov made it 2-0 for Khimki also with a header from the edge of the six-yard box.
Serbian defender Miodrag Jovanovic completed the scoring nine minutes after the interval when he netted Khimki′s third also with a six-yard header from a corner.
21 05 2007
Russia coach Guus Hiddink has announced his 23-man squad for the UEFA EURO 2008 Group E qualifiers against Andorra on 2 June in Saint Petersburg, and Croatia four days later in Zagreb.
Defenders: Sergei Ignashevich, Alexei Berezutsky, Vasily Berezutsky (all CSKA Moscow), Denis Kolodin (Dynamo Moscow), Alexander Anyukov (FC Zenit), Roman Shishkin (Spartak Moscow), Sergei Yefimov (Lokomotiv Moscow)
Midfielders: Yury Zhirkov (CSKA Moscow), Diniyar Bilyaletdinov (Lokomotiv Moscow), Igor Semshov (Dynamo Moscow), Konstantin Zyryanov (FC Zenit), Viktor Budyansky (Ascoli/ITA), Dmitry Torbinsky, Alexei Rebko, Vladimir Bystrov (all Spartak Moscow)
Strikers: Ivan Saenko (Nurnberg/GER), Andrei Arshavin, Pavel Pogrebnyak (both FC Zenit), Alexander Kerzhakov (Sevilla/SPA), Dmitry Sychev (Lokomotiv Moscow)
18 05 2007
Russia coach Guus Hiddink named the following 23-man squad on Friday for two Euro 2008 Group E qualifiers at home to Andorra on June 2 and away to Croatia four days later:
Goalkeepers: Dmitry Borodin (Torpedo Moscow), Vyacheslav Malafeyev (Zenit St Petersburg), Vladimir Gabulov (Kuban Krasnodar)
Defenders: Sergei Ignashevich (CSKA Moscow), Alexei Berezutsky (CSKA Moscow), Vasily Berezutsky (CSKA Moscow), Alexander Anyukov (Zenit St Petersburg), Denis Kolodin (Dynamo Moscow), Roman Shishkin (Spartak Moscow), Sergei Yefimov (Lokomotiv Moscow)
Midfielders: Diniyar Bilyaletdinov (Lokomotiv Moscow), Yuri Zhirkov (CSKA Moscow), Igor Semshov (Dynamo Moscow), Dmitry Torbinsky (Spartak Moscow), Alexei Rebko (Spartak Moscow), Vladimir Bystrov (Spartak Moscow), Konstantin Zyryanov (Zenit St Petersburg), Viktor Budyansky (Ascoli)
Forwards: Andrei Arshavin (Zenit St Petersburg), Pavel Pogrebnyak (Zenit St Petersburg), Dmitry Sychev (Lokomotiv Moscow), Alexander Kerzhakov (Sevilla), Ivan Saenko (Nuremberg).
23 03 2007
Estonia will have extra police on duty for Saturday′s Euro 2008 qualifier with Russia following a recent rise in political tensions, officials said on Friday.
Estonia and Russia have been arguing over Estonia′s plan to remove a Soviet-era World War Two monument from the centre of Tallinn which Moscow has said would insult the memory of soldiers who fought against Nazism.
"Because of new EU and UEFA rules on security for international football games, there will be more police, but we are just trying to do what is necessary for any international game held in Tallinn," said Harrys Puusepp, a spokesman for the North Tallinn Police prefecture.
Puusepp added that the authorities were not expecting trouble from the more than 900 Russian supporters expected to arrive in Estonia to watch the game in the 10,000-seat stadium.
Russia are second in the seven-team group with eight points from four matches, two behind leaders Croatia. Estonia are effectively out of the running after losing their opening three qualifiers.
However, the home team will be especially fired up for a match against the Russians both for wider historical reasons as well as trying to avenge a 2-0 defeat in St Petersburg earlier in the campaign.
Russia will also be missing six key players.
Goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeyev, midfielder Igor Semshov and defenders Alexei Berezutsky and Denis Kolodin have pulled out through injury and illness.
Veteran playmaker Yegor Titov has left the team citing family reasons while striker Pavel Pogrebnyak is suspended leaving Russia′s Dutch manager Guus Hiddink with a seriously depleted party.
Madis Hallimae of an Estonian fans group said supporters planned to hold their traditional march to the stadium for the match but were not looking for trouble.
The Estonian soccer association said no extra security was planned for inside the stadium. All measures would be the same as for matches against England, Croatia or Israel.
The soccer federation has also advised that "symbols of states which no longer exist" are not allowed in the stadium, referring both to the flag of the former Soviet Union and to that of Nazi Germany, an association which angers some Russians.
Estonia regained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 after what it sees as 50 years of occupation.
Post-Soviet tensions with Russia have emerged over the status of Estonia′s large Russian-speaking minority, which Moscow says Estonia discriminates against. Estonia has denied this strongly.
