Spartak Moscow saw their winning streak in the Russian Premier League come to an end as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Kuban Krasnodar on Sunday.
Spartak joined Rostov at the top of the table with 10 points from four matches, two ahead of champions CSKA Moscow, who are third after a 0-0 draw at Rubin Kazan.
Nigeria striker Emmanuel Emenike headed Spartak in front in the 30th minute, but Kuban, playing their first match under new Romanian manager Dorinel Munteanu, leveled in the 66th minute through Senegalese substitute Ibrahima Balde’s long-range effort.
The hosts, cheered on by a 30,000 crowd, pressed forward and four minutes later Brazilian defender Xandao put them ahead, tapping in the rebound after Spartak goalkeeper Sergei Pesiakov had parried Balde’s close-range header from a corner.
However, Spartak’s Armenian forward Yura Movsisyan equalized 15 minutes from time with a powerful long-range shot.
“We were closer to the win tonight as we looked better and created more scoring chances, but the draw looked to be the logical result,” Munteanu said.
Meanwhile, CSKA Moscow moved into third place with eight points from their four matches after being unable to break the deadlock against Rubin Kazan.
“Our attack was unimpressive today, making too many mistakes as Rubin are a very well-disciplined team and it’s extremely hard to overcome their defensive line, especially on their home ground,” CSKA manager Leonid Slutsky said.
In the day’s other league match, Krylia Sovetov Samara held Amkar Perm to a goalless draw.
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