Spartak Moscow win inaugural RPL fans’ tournament

Spartak Moscow were crowned champions of the inaugural Russian Premier League fans’ tournament in Dagomys on Sunday after beating Zenit St. Petersburg in the final. Zenit failed to score any of their spot kicks in the shootout after the rivals had drawn 2-2 in normal time, leaving Spartak to lift the trophy.

The eight-a-side tournament matches lasted 40 minutes but there were still some huge scorelines. Spartak thrashed Rubin 12-0 in the group stages and Sochi 11-0 in the quarter final, for example, while CSKA Moscow hammered Ural Ekaterinburg 10-2. Fifteen of the 24 group-stage matches saw at least five goals.

Group A
Round 1: Tambov 1-0 Dynamo / Rubin 0-12 Spartak
Round 2: Dynamo 3-1 Rubin / Spartak 4-0 Tambov
Round 3: Tambov 6-0 Rubin / Spartak 2-1 Dynamo

Group B
Round 1: Rostov 1-4 Sochi / Lokomotiv 8-0 Ufa
Round 2: Sochi 1-4 Lokomotiv / Ufa 1-4 Rostov
Round 3: Rostov 0-4 Lokomotiv / Ufa 0-6 Sochi

Group C
Round 1: Zenit 5-1 Orenburg / CSKA 10-2 Ural
Round 2: Orenburg 2-7 CSKA / Ural 0-3 Zenit
Round 3: Zenit 3-3 CSKA / Ural 2-4 Orenburg

Group D
Round 1: Akhmat 2-0 Krylia Sovetov / Krasnodar 2-5 Arsenal
Round 2: Krylia Sovetov 3-4 Krasnodar / Arsenal 1-0 Akhmat
Round 3: Akhmat 0-3 Krasnodar / Arsenal 5-0 Krylia Sovetov

After top-scoring in the groups stages with 20 goals in three matches, including a 3-3 draw against eventual finalists Zenit, CSKA beat Krasnodar 2-0 before losing to tournament winners Spartak 1-0 in the semi final. Zenit didn’t concede in the knockout stages until the final after beating Arsenal and Lokomotiv 5-0 and 2-0 respectively.

Quarter finals
Spartak 11-0 Sochi
CSKA 2-0 Krasnodar
Tambov 1-1 (7-8 pens) Lokomotiv
Zenit 5-0 Arsenal

Semi finals
Spartak 1-0 CSKA
Lokomotiv 0-2 Zenit

3rd place playoff
CSKA 3-2 Lokomotiv

FINAL
Spartak 2-2 (2-0 pens) Zenit

After the final, a round table was held between the Russian Football Union management, the RPL and representatives of fan associations to discuss current issues. Reports on those discussions will follow in due course.