Zenit St. Petersburg preserved their two-point lead at the top of the Russian Premier League by beating struggling Tomsk 4-0.

Armed with that narrow points advantage over CSKA Moscow and Dinamo Moscow at the start of play, Zenit did the damage before half-time with goals from Viktor Faizulin, Roman Shirokov and Alexander Kerzhakov, who also netted after the break.

Faizulin gave Zenit a fourth-minute lead, doubled by Shirokov after 23 minutes. Kerzhakov netted his first of the game after 43 minutes, and made it a double in the 54th minute to seal the emphatic win.

While Dinamo were not in action today, and hold a game in hand on Zenit but now trail by five points, CSKA played and won. They recorded a 3-1 home win over Volga Nizhny Novgorod, which did not come easily.

CSKA keep pace
CSKA went ahead after six minutes through Seydou Doumbia but were pegged back after 17 minutes when Shota Bibilov netted.

It remained 1-1 at half-time, but the visitors were reduced to ten men after 49 minutes when Inal Getigezhev was sent off.

CSKA eventually took control, edging 2-1 ahead when Alan Dzagoev scored in the 68th minute and tying up victory with a penalty from Sergei Ignashevich after 84 minutes.