CSKA beat Spartak to stay in Premier League title contention

Posted on March 20, 2012 by SoccerPunter

CSKA Moscow closed back to within six points of Russia Premier League leaders Zenit St Petersburg with a hard-fought 2-1 win over city rivals Spartak on Monday.

Serbian midfielder Zoran Tosic and Ivory Coast marksman Seydou Doumbia were both on target for CSKA, either side of an Artem Dzyuba strike for Spartak.

Second-placed CSKA are now on 64 points from 35 matches, with leaders Zenit on 70. Spartak remain on 59 points and share fourth spot with Moscow rivals Dynamo.

“It was a top-quality match,” Leonid Slutsky said afterwards, with the CSKA coach delighted that his side were able to put their 4-1 Champions League loss to Real Madrid last Wednesday behind them.

“We had plenty of chances in the second half and we would have been more comfortable at the end had we managed to convert just a couple of them.

“We played some great football tonight and deserved our victory.”

After a quiet opening half-hour at the Luzhniki Stadium the Red Army side took the lead when Doumbia picked out Tosic in the box and the former Manchester United player fired past helpless Spartak ‘keeper Andrei Dykan.

Spartak stepped things up a gear after the interval, however, and in the 51st minute Dzyuba equalised with a powerful shot from just outside the area after being fed by Yevgeny Makeev.

But CSKA retook the lead just after the hour mark when Doumbia converted Ahmed Musa’s cross from six yards out.

It was the Ivorian’s 26th league goal of the campaign and proved to be the decisive counter of the game.

CSKA are next in action on Saturday in another Moscow derby against Lokomotiv, while Spartak take on Dynamo on Sunday.