Early Blitz Seals Zenit Win Over Akhmat in RFPL Clash

FK Zenit Sankt-Petersburg needed just 11 minutes to take full control of their RFPL matchday 27 encounter, beating RFK Akhmat Grozny 2–0 in a clinical home performance.

The hosts started fast and were rewarded in the 8th minute. Aleksandr Sobolev opened the scoring for Zenit, finishing off a move created by defender Igor Diveev. Sobolev’s strike gave Zenit an early 1–0 lead and immediately put Akhmat on the back foot.

RFPL FINISHED

2026-04-26 16:30

FK Zenit Sankt-Petersburg

2 - 0

RFK Akhmat Grozny

Matchday 27 REGULAR_SEASON

Only three minutes later, Zenit doubled their advantage. Luiz Henrique made it 2–0 in the 11th minute, with Pedrinho Santos providing the assist. The quick-fire double established a commanding cushion that Zenit never really looked like relinquishing.

Akhmat Grozny tried to respond but their afternoon grew more complicated when Turpal-Ali Ibishev was booked in the 34th minute. The visitors also turned to their bench early, making a first substitution on 23 minutes as Yakhya Magomedov replaced Vadim Ulyanov.

Chasing the game after the break, Akhmat made a flurry of changes around the hour mark, introducing Galymzhan Kenzhebek, Brian Mansilla, Rifat Zhemaletdinov and Papa Gadio in an effort to inject fresh energy and attacking threat. However, Zenit managed the tempo well and protected their lead with relative comfort.

Zenit responded with their own changes in the final stages, including the withdrawal of goalscorer Sobolev for Jhon Durán and the introduction of Jhonatan, Vanja Drkušič and Aleksandr Erokhin to see out the closing minutes.

No further goals were recorded after the early brace, and Zenit saw out the match to secure all three points in regular-season action. Detailed match statistics beyond the goals, substitutions and booking were not available at the time of writing.

For more on the RFPL and full match context, visit the RFPL competition page or the full match report at Ballaxy.

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RFPL Standings

Season: 2025/26

#	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Form
1	FK Krasnodar	28	19	6	3	56	21	35	63	W W W D D
2	FK Zenit Sankt-Petersburg	28	18	8	2	50	18	32	62	W W D W D
3	FK Lokomotiv Moskva	28	13	11	4	52	36	16	50	D L D W D
4	FK Spartak Moskva	28	14	6	8	45	38	7	48	L W L W D
5	FK Baltika Kaliningrad	28	11	13	4	37	18	19	46	L L D D D
6	PFC CSKA Moskva	28	13	6	9	39	31	8	45	L D D D L
7	FK Rubin Kazan	28	11	9	8	26	26	0	42	W D W D D
8	FK Dinamo Moskva	28	10	9	9	47	38	9	39	D W L D W
9	RFK Akhmat Grozny	28	9	8	11	33	37	-4	35	W L D L D
10	FK Rostov	28	7	9	12	22	30	-8	30	W L D L D
11	PFK Krylya Sovetov Samara	28	7	8	13	31	48	-17	29	W W L D D
12	FK Akron Tolyatti	28	6	9	13	33	46	-13	27	L W D D L
13	FK Orenburg	28	6	8	14	28	41	-13	26	L W W L D
14	FK Dinamo Makhachkala	28	5	9	14	18	36	-18	24	L L D L D
15	FK Nizhny Novgorod	28	6	4	18	23	46	-23	22	L L L D D
16	PFK Sochi	28	6	3	19	27	57	-30	21	W L W W W