Alexander Kerzhakov and Russia put a disappointing Euro 2012 campaign behind them as they demolished Israel 4-0 away from home in a World Cup qualifier.
Wayward finishing marred Kerzhakov's performances in Poland and Ukraine earlier this summer, but the Zenit St. Petersburg striker was on target in a resounding win against opponents who Russia had only beaten twice in eight previous meetings.
"It's never easy to beat Israel by that sort of score," Russia coach Fabio Capello said. "The guys left a lot of their strength and a lot of themselves on the pitch and played a brilliant match."
All of Capello's substitutions were forced, with Vladimir Bystrov going off with concussion after a clash of heads, Alexander Kokorin suffering a pulled thigh muscle and Alexander Anyukov taken off with a bruised ankle.
"The only thing that worries me is the three injuries to our players, but I'm satisfied with the team's play."
The scoring started when Russia received a 25-yard free-kick on eight minutes and Kerzhakov made no mistake, curling the ball over the Israel wall and into the net for his first competitive goal in a Russia shirt since October 2010.
The second came in unusual circumstances 10 minutes later, Roman Shirokov feeding Bystrov, who charged into the box with the ball and collided heavily with both Israeli center-backs, allowing Alexander Kokorin plenty of space to lash the ball into the net.
Kerzhakov struck again on 64 minutes with a volleyed finish from close range off a perfectly curled Viktor Faizulin cross from the left flank.
Faizulin turned goalscorer to kill off any possible hope of an Israel comeback on 77 minutes, putting the ball past goalkeeper Dudu Aouate from an Alexander Samedov cross.
Israel had set themselves up defensively and rarely offered much threat after Kerzhakov’s early opener seemed to upturn their game plan. The hosts wasted a free-kick in a promising position on 10 minutes, Bibras Natkho opting not to shoot and instead setting up debutant Maharan Radi, whose low shot was badly off target.
After Kokorin scored the second, Bystrov and both Israeli center-backs lay on the floor as the match was stopped for five minutes. Bystrov and Tal Ben Haim were treated for a clash of heads, with the Russian being substituted for Samedov.
Vasily Berezutsky came close to making it three for Russia on 31 minutes with a powerful header from a corner, but the effort went over the bar.
Soon after, Kerzhakov used neat footwork to beat Ben Haim, but was left out wide with few options other than a shot that Aouate easily covered.
Israel turned up the pressure towards half time, especially after Kokorin suffered a thigh injury and was replaced by midfielder Faizulin on 34 minutes. Radi put in two shots from inside the box, but both were mishit and flew over the bar.
Early in the second half, Eden Ben Basat headed over Russia goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev’s bar from a Natkho corner.
Fabio Capello’s men now look forward to a clash against Portugal, the other heavyweights in Group F, at home on October 12.
Israel: Dudu Aouate, Yuval Shpungin, Tal Ben Haim, Bibras Natkho, Almog Cohen (Eden Ben Basat 46), Etey Shechter (Ben Sahar 46), Yoav Ziv, Yossi Benayoun (Gil Vermouth 74), Hen Ezra, Maharan Radi, Eytan Tibi.
Russia: Igor Akinfeev, Alexander Anyukov (Andrei Yeschchenko 50), Sergei Ignashevich, Vasily Berezutsky, Dmitry Kombarov, Igor Denisov, Denis Glushakov, Roman Shirokov, Vladimir Bystrov (Alexander Samedov 23), Alexander Kerzhakov, Alexander Kokorin (Viktor Faizulin 34).
