Intro:

Zenit St Petersburg climbed to the top of the Russian Premier League following a 5-0 thrashing of visiting title rivals Spartak Moscow at the Petrovsky Stadium on Saturday

Script:

Zenit St Petersburg took on Spartak Moscow on Saturday - with the joint Russian Premier League would send them clear at the top.

Both sides went into the clash with a 100 per cent record - nine points from three games.

With 16 minutes played, Zenit forged ahead - thanks to a superb solo effort from Maksim Kanunnikov.

Zenit held thier lead until half-time, but in the second half the floodgates really opened.

Vladimir Bystrov made it 2-0 for the hosts less than ten minutes after the restart.

Spartak squandered the chance to pull a goal back in the 61st minute when Diniyar Bilyaletdinov saw his penalty saved by goalkeeper Malafeev, and some heroic Zenit defending on the line.

Moments later Russian international Roman Shirokov put the home side further ahead, with this looping finish.

Spartak found their numbers reduced in the 63rd minute following the dismissal of former Celtic midfielder Aiden McGeady - a straight red for this rash tackle.

Viktor Faitzulin made it four soon after, tapping in at the back post.

The 26-year-old then added another with three minutes remaining to cement an emphatic win for the defending league champions.

The victory pushed Zenit three points ahead of second-placed Spartak.