We have rounded up the best stats and facts from matchday 19 of the Russian Premier Liga.

Zenit occupy first place ahead of the winter break and are ahead of CSKA by four points. In eight of the previous nine seasons, the team leading before the break has won the trophy. The exception was the 2013/14 season, when CSKA overtook Zenit in the spring and were crowned champions.

Two players celebrated their goals by doing somersaults. Sochi’s Anton Zabolotny came on as a substitute against Dynamo and scored the winning goal seven minutes later. The last time Anton celebrated in this way фfter he scored a double against Rostov on matchday 10. Khimki’s Arshak Koryan also showed his acrobatic skills. The Lokomotiv product scored from the penalty spot against his former team.

Fedor Chalov has scored four of his five goals this season against Rostov. Chalov scored his first goal on matchday 12 against Arsenal Tula, then scored against Rostov at home, and in the away match with Valery Karpin’s team scored the third hat-trick of his career. His first goal, scored in the 66th second, was the fastest of the season. The previous fastest came on matchday nine, when Akhmat striker Georgi Melkadze scored against Ural in the 80th second.

Former Spartak youth product Artem Dzyuba scored his sixth goal against the Red-Whites. The striker played 126 games for the Moscow team, and scored 26 goals. In 2015, he moved to Zenit St. Petersburg and scored in the first four matches against his former team, but then did not score for three seasons. Dzyuba's goalless streak ended in the 2019/20 Russian Cup semi-finals.

Taking into account added time, eight minutes was enough for Khimki to come back from 2-1 down to snatch victory from Lokomotiv. The Red-Blacks fell behind twice during the match: Arshak Koryan responded to Grzegorz Krychowiak's opener with a penalty, and after Murilo's header in the 37th minute, Khimki struck at the death. Ilya Kukharchuk equalized in the 85th minute, and in the third minute added on another Lokomotiv product, Aleksandr Dolgov, secured the win with his first for Khimki. The win was the fifth in six games for Igor Cherevchenko’s men.

Krasnodar striker Marcus Berg scored his ninth goal of the season against Ufa and equaled his tally from last season. Then the Swede reached this mark on the last matchday after a double against Akhmat. This time he scored the ninth goal in his 16th match.

Thirteen days before the New Year, Tambov and Ural’s 1-1 draw was the last RPL match of this calendar year. The last time RPL games were held so close to the New Year holidays was in 2017. In the final matches of the year on 11 December, Lokomotiv beat Tosno 3-1 in St. Petersburg and Akhmat drew 0-0 at home to Zenit.

For the 16th match in a row, Sochi avoided defeat at the Fisht Olympic Stadium. The last time Sochi lost at home was a 2-1 defeat to Arsenal Tula on 1 March, and the unbeaten streak began on the 8th of the same month with a 2-0 victory over Ural. Since then, Vladimir Fedotov’s side have drawn five games at their home stadium and won 11. Sochi will resume their RPL campaign in February again with a home meeting with Arsenal.

Photo: Denis Tyrin/CSKA