Dzyuba hat-trick powers Zenit past Ufa

Zenit St. Petersburg 6-0 FC Ufa
Saturday 26 September, Gazprom Arena

Goals: Zenit - Sardar Azmoun (24, 61), Artem Dzyuba (pen 32, 72, 89), Aleksey Sutormin (90+2)
Man of the Match: Artem Dzyuba (Zenit)

Artem Dzyuba joined teammate Sardar Azmoun at the top of the RPL top goalscorers’ list as the Russian striker hit a hattrick. Azmoun scored two goals of his own as Zenit emphatically outclassed Ufa at home. 

Sergey Semak’s men were in control throughout as Azmoun’s unstoppable volley broke the deadlock midway through the first half, before Dzyuba’s epnalty doubled their advantage shortly after. Last season’s top two RPL goalscorers added another each after the break before Dzyuba curled home a cultured finish late on. There was still time for an added time individual finish from Aleksey Sutromin to complete the rout.

Zenit retake top spot from Spartak Moscow on 20 points, while Ufa remain in 14th on five points.

Next RPL fixtures: Spartak Moscow vs Zenit St. Petersburg (Saturday 3 October); FC Ufa vs Rotor Volgograd (Saturday 3 October)