Russian Premier League leaders Zenit St. Petersburg have extended their advantage over arch-rivals CSKA Moscow to eight points following a 2-1 home win in a much-anticipated top-of-the-table encounter.
Zenit's Brazilian striker Hulk broke the deadlock on the hour before adding a second goal ten minutes later to put the hosts in a comfortable position going into the final quarter of the match on Sunday, reports Xinhua.
A late strike from 18-year-old CSKA wunderkind Carlos Strandberg gave the visitors some hope in the dying minutes, but Zenit held on to record their 16th win in 21 league games so far this season.
The result leaves CSKA (43) eight points adrift of Zenit (51) with nine rounds to play as the race for the Russian Premier League title enters the final post-winter stretch.
