Leaders Zenit held by Spartak

– Russian Premier League leaders Zenit St Petersburg’s title ambitions suffered a minor setback on Saturday after a 1-1 draw against Spartak Moscow.

Zenit are now nine points clear of second-placed FC Krasnodar, who face minnows Arsenal Tula tonight.

Defending champions CSKA Moscow, who take on Ural Yekaterinburg also tonight, are in third, four points further adrift.

“Our performance wasn’t good today as we started to play only after we conceded a goal,” Zenit manager Andre Villas-Boas said.

“At least we’ve shown great team spirit to come back and save it.” –

Moscow