(UPDATES with details, quote)
Konstantin Zyryanov hit a 69th-minute rocket and set up a second to give champions Zenit St. Petersburg a 2-0 win at FC Krasnodar in the Russian Premier League on Sunday.
Zyryanov picked out a clear path through a forest of defenders to find the net from the edge of the box, and then fed Viktor Faizulin to slide home and seal the points ten minutes from times.
Zenit were under pressure for much of the game, clearly lacking the defensive midfield qualities of Igor Denisov, who remains cast out of the side over a wage dispute.
But Luciano Spalletti's side ground out a tough win when it mattered, a first victory in four matches lifting them to third on 21 points.
"When we went 2-0 up, Krasnodar put three men up front and it was hard to maintain it," the Italian coach said. "They are a great side and they put up a big fight. They have good midfielders, and good wide players who gave us trouble down the flanks."
Yura Movsisyan hit the post for Krasnodar, who stay in 11th with their fifth defeat of the campaign.
Earlier in the day, Keisuke Honda engineered a 2-0 win for CSKA Moscow over Spartak in the capital derby; Amkar Perm shocked Rubin with a 1-0 win in Kazan; and Anzhi Makhachkala maintained their lead with a 2-0 victory at beleaguered Dynamo Moscow.
On the half hour the league's joint-top scorer Movsisyan played in Brazilian midfielder Joaozinho, whose shot into the right corner was tipped away by Zenit goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev.
Axel Witsel then made a last-ditch clearance with Krasnodar players waiting to pounce in the six-yard box.
Zenit came out in the second half with renewed vigor, and hit the post on 57 minutes.
Sergei Semak picked up a loose pass in the box and hit goalward from a tight angle. The ball deflected off the arm of Nikola Drincic and bobbled onto the post. The referee waved play on.
But the hosts imposed themselves once again, and Malafeev tipped over a fierce effort from Brazilian forward Wanderson.
Krasnodar then spurned their best chance of the match, with Bosnian defender Ognjen Vranjes missing an open goal while stooping for a back-post header.
At the other end, Vladimir Bystrov was denied a goal with last-ditch sliding tackle from a defender.
The visitors scored from the resulting corner.
Krasnodar piled forward, led by the dogged Movsisyan. The American-born Armenian charged into the box, appearing to go to far but engineering the angle for a shot and hitting Malafeev's right-hand post.
Zenit responded with a lightning-fast counterattack from which they doubled the lead.
The hosts rained long shots down on Malafeev's goal as time ran out, but none hit the target.
