The defining moment of the match arrived late in the half, when Branimir Petrovic sent an inch-perfect pass to Akimov, which resulted in a penalty and a red card for Evgeny Balyaykin. Even though Akimov's penalty was saved by Sergey Ryzhikov, Rubin were down to 10 men.

Ten minutes into the second half, Rostov sealed the win when Dushan Angelkovic went on a stunning run before teeing up Akimov, who made no mistake and scored his second of the match.

Spartak Moscow 1-0 Khimki

The depleted Muscovites, playing without four of their top players, outplayed lowly Khimki at the Luzniki stadium.

The Moscow Region side hardly created a single opportunity to score during the game. By contrast, Spartak converted their first chance after 30 minutes through left back Malik Fathi. They then remained in control of the game until the final whistle.

The final score was 1-0, giving three points to the home side. Khimki are still without a win in the Premier League this season.

Dynamo 1-1 Kuban

Kuban ensured the Muscovites didn’t take the lead in the league after Rubin's failure at home. All goals were scored in the first half. Russian international Aleksandr Kerzhakov equalized for Dynamo after Khamin Drahman's early shot gave Kuban the lead.

Terek 3-2 Krylya Sovetov

Krylya Sovetov, too, came up short of taking the lead in the league, after losing 3-2 away to Terek. With Evgeny Savin and Daniel Panku bagging a brace apiece, a late goal by Sergey Bendz proved the difference in Grozny.