Zenit St Petersburg have retained the Russian Premier League title with three games to spare after beating Dinamo Moscow 2-1.
Goals from Roman Shirokov and Alexander Kerzakhov cancelled out Alexandru Epureanu's strike to give Zenit the win over their closest rivals, despite having Konstantin Zyryanov sent off after 55 minutes.
The Russian Premier League works in a similar way to the SPL, with the league splitting in half and two mini-leagues then taking place.
When the league split, Zenit were just two points clear of second place, but a run of 18 games without loss has allowed them to extend that lead to an unassailable 15 points.
It is the third time Zenit have won the title in the last five years, having previously never lifted the trophy.
Written by
Barney Corkhill
Barney Corkhill
