FC Khimki 1-3 Zenit Saint Petersburg
Saturday July 24, Khimki Arena, Moscow

Goals: Khimki - Kukharchuk 28’; Zenit - Azmoun 33’, Erokhin 70’, Sutormin 75’ 

Man of the Match: Mikhail Kerzhakov (Zenit) 

Zenit Saint Petersburg’s third successive title defence started in an unideal manner when they conceded to Khimki in the first half. A header from Senin Sebai was saved well by Mikhail Kerzhakov, but Ilya Kukharchuk tapped home from the rebound. Despite this early setback, Zenit came back into the game just five minutes later thanks to talisman Sardar Azmoun. The Iranian has been subject to interest from Europe, and proved today that he’s picking up where he left off last season.

In the second half, an inspired substitution from Sergey Semak meant that Zenit took the lead, and essentially the victory. Aleksandr Erokhin scored from a well taken flying volley just minutes after coming on. To drive the nail into Khimki’s coffin, Zenit’s Aleksey Sutormin scored a penalty soon after. In the end, Khimki’s resilience proved insufficient whereas the champions’ mettle was enough to get them over the line.

Next RPL fixtures: Sunday 1 August - Rostov vs Zenit; Sunday 1 August - Krasnodar vs Khimki