Zenit St Petersburg beat Lokomotiv Moscow on penalties to win the season-opening Russian Super Cup on Sunday.
Italian defender Domenico Criscito scored the decisive penalty for last season’s league champions Zenit to win 4-2 on penalties following an even match, which ended 1-1 after extra-time.
Lokomotiv took the lead in the 28th minute through Baye Oumar Niasse’s low, accurate shot.
Photo: EPA
His teammate Dmitry Tarasov lost the ball in a tackle, but stretched to block Luis Neto’s clearance, knocking the ball into the path of the Senegal striker, who applied a calm finish.
Zenit dominated the second half, but missed a series of chances and failed to level the score until the 83rd minute, when fullback Igor Smolnikov headed in at the far post after Axel Witsel headed on Hulk’s free-kick.
In the last minutes of extra-time, Witsel could have won the match for Zenit, but the Belgian skewed his shot wide from close range.
It was a third Super Cup title for Zenit, who last won the curtain-raising competition in 2011.
Three years before Russia hosts the World Cup, the 2015-2016 season begins with domestic soccer in turmoil and clubs unsure of how many foreign players they will be allowed to field.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law on July 1 giving the government the right to limit the number of foreign players playing for Russian clubs in team sports, including soccer.
Putin said that the measure would help to give young Russian players more chance to develop, while stopping clubs from wasting money on overpaid foreign stars.
The government wants to impose a limit for this season, but has yet to announce what the limit will be. The resulting uncertainty is hampering clubs’ dealings in the transfer market.
The Russian Premier League season starts on Friday when nine-time champions Spartak Moscow host FC Ufa.
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