Malcom double sends Zenit six points clear

Zenit St. Petersburg 3-0 Arsenal Tula
Saturday 19 March, Gazprom Arena

Goals: Zenit - Malcom 44', 54', Yuri Alberto 89'
Man of the Match: Malcom (Zenit) 

Sergey Semak's side were unusually lacking in cutting edge to start with, completely dominating possession but rarely forcing a save from Anton Kochenkov. 

That was until just after the half-hour mark, when Claudinho struck a clever free kick under the wall, which Kochenkov did well to keep out low down before also blocking the rebound effort. 

Arsenal resistance finally broke just before the break, even if the final blow was delivered in scrappy fashion. Andrey Mostovoy tore past his marker with ease, carving open plenty of space to pick out Malcom for a bobbled finish. 

The second half began with completely one-way traffic, and once again it was Malcom who sliced through Arsenal's defence. A slick one-two with Ivan Sergeev allowed him time to sweep in a meticulously crafted bottom-corner finish. 

Danil Krugovoy's vicious drive was well blocked from close range. Much as the game was completely in Zenit's control, however, Evgeny Markov glanced a header inches wide with about a quarter of an hour to go. 

The closing stages saw countless opportunities for Zenit to extend their lead, but it took until the penultimate minute to finally add a third. Once the five-on-two counter-attack broke there was only one outcome, as Krugovoy laid a simple tap-in on a plate for the Brazilian forward. 

Zenit remain top on 48 points, while Arsenal stay 14th on 20 points.

Next RPL fixtures: Sunday 3 April - Sochi vs Zenit; Arsenal vs Akhmat