Zenit and Lokomotiv have won eight Super Cups combined - here's how

On the eve of the 2021 Russian Super Cup, we look back at how Zenit and Lokomotiv previously won the trophy.

8 March 2003, Lokomotiv 1-1 CSKA (4-3 penalties)

On 8 March 2003, the first ever Russian Super Cup took place, between Lokomotiv and CSKA. Jiri Jarosik opened the scoring at the end of the first half, but in the 83rd minute 21-year-old Ruslan Pimenov, who had come on as a substitute at halftime, saved the Railwaymen from defeat.

The game reached a penalty shootout, and at first Lokomotiv fell behind. Rolan Gusev’s effort could have been decisive, but it was saved by Sergey Ovchinnikov. Lokomotiv slotted their next two spot kicks confidently, and before the Armymen’s seventh strike there was some confusion: the players could not decide for a long time who would take the penalty. Deividas Semberas approached the spot uncertainly, failed to beat Ovchinnikov, and the Railwaymen became the first winners of the Super Cup.

6 March 2005, Lokomotiv 1-0 Terek

In March 2005, Lokomotiv met RPL newcomers Terek, who had won the Russian Cup as a second-tier side. The Railwaymen won their second Super Cup thanks to Dmitry Loskov's goal in the 74th minute. The team captain converted a penalty after a foul on Vladimir Maminov. Incidentally, Terek’s goal was guarded by former Lokomotiv goalkeeper Ruslan Nigmatullin. 

9 March 2008, Zenit 2-1 Lokomotiv

The match at Luzhniki in 2008 was remembered first of all for a cunning goal by Andrey Arshavin. The Zenit player stayed behind goalkeeper Ivan Leventz, and as soon as the goalkeeper rolled the ball on the pitch, Arshavin ran out from behind the goalkeeper and sent the ball into an empty goal. In the 69th minute, Lokomotiv equalized thanks to Rodolfo's goal, and in the 82nd Pavel Pogrebnyak beat Levenets and brought the Super Cup back to St. Petersburg for the first time.

6 March 2011, Zenit 1-0 CSKA

Three years later, the Blue-White-Sky Blues met CSKA, and for the first time the Super Cup was not held in Moscow – the game was hosted at Kuban stadium in Krasnodar. Then the current head coach of St. Petersburg Sergey Semak set a unique achievement by becoming the only player to win a trophy with three different clubs (he’d previously won with CSKA and Rubin). In that game, he assisted Aleksey Ionov for the only goal.

12 July 2015, Zenit 1-1 Lokomotiv (4-2 penalties) 

The 2015 fixture was supposed to be held in Khimki, but the game was moved to Zenit’s home arena at the Petrovsky. Oumar Niasse opened the scoring in the first half, but former Lokomotiv player Igor Smolnikov equalised seven minutes from time, and the game went to a penalty shootout. Zenit converted four shots out of five, while the Railwaymen only scored twice. Domenico Criscito's penalty was the winner for Zenit.

23 July 2016, CSKA 0-1 Zenit

The 2016 Super Cup was Romanian coach Mircea Lucescu’s first match of Zenit, as his new side faced CSKA at Lokomotiv stadium and edged home by a single goal from Mauricio. For Lucescu, this trophy remained his only one in Russia, as he left Zenit at the end of the season.

6 July 2019, Zenit 2-3 Lokomotiv

The third Super Cup meeting between Zenit and Lokomotiv was held at the VTB Arena. Lokomotiv opened the scoring thanks to Fedor Smolov's goal in the sixth minute, but Zenit responded with a double from Sardar Azmoun, who scored before the break and at the start of the second half. At the end of the match, Aleksey Miranchuk became the main hero, scoring two goals in three minutes. The midfielder's double brought Lokomotiv their first Super Cup victory in 14 years.

7 August 2020, Zenit 2-1 Lokomotiv

A year later, the teams met again in the season opener, but now Zenit broke the deadlock through Artem Dzyuba. Magomed Ozdoev doubled their advantage in the 69th minute, but three minutes later the Railwaymen pulled one back through Vedran Corluka - the Croatian veteran’s last goal in professional football.

Zenit became five-time winners of the Russian Super Cup, and Sergey Semak set another achievement, by becoming the first to win the trophy as a player and head coach.

Photo: Vyacheslav Evdokimov/Zenit, Lokomotiv, Mikhail Shapaev/RFU