Nine-time champions Spartak Moscow went top of the Russian Premier League on Sunday following a confident 2-0 win at Ural Yekaterinburg.
Spartak have a maximum six points from two matches, two ahead of a group of six clubs, who share second spot.
After a goalless first half in Yekaterinburg, Irish international midfielder Aiden McGeady gave Spartak a 1-0 lead in the 51st minute when he converted Sergei Parshivlyuk's neat cross.
Second-half substitute Nigerian forward Emmanuel Emenike added a second in the last minute pouncing on a rebound after McGeady's shot bounced back off the woodwork to secure the visitors a well-deserved win.
"It was a hard match. Ural learned from their previous match against CSKA and concentrated well in defence," said Spartak coach Valery Karpin.
"We tried to battle through their defence really hard but couldn't find any weaknesses in the first half.
"Luckily, we scored just after the break. In the scrappy football that followed, we were the better side and scored the second goal that decided the match."
Meanwhile, hosts and two-time Russian champions Rubin Kazan battled back from a goal down to clinch a hard-fought 2-1 win over last season's runners-up Zenit St Petersburg.
Zenit opened the scoring through Portuguese midfielder Miguel Danny who slotted the ball home in the sixth minute from striker Alexander Bukharov's pass.
After the interval Rubin upped the tempo and their Turkish skipper Karadeniz Gokdeniz levelled the match with a low close range shot in the 51st minute.
Venezuelan forward Salomon Rondon then grabbed the winner for Rubin with a dramatic header deep into injury time.
"I think the game gave the fans a real show," said Rubin coach Kurban Berdyev.
"Both teams played at their best but we battled right to the very end and managed to level and later to score the winner. I'm really proud of my men today."
In the last match on Sunday', Rostov were held to a 2-2 draw by visiting FC Krasnodar.
Belarus international midfielder Timofei Kalachev and forward Artem Dzyuba scored one apiece for Rostov, while Portuguese midfielder Marcio Abreu and Brazilian Francisco Wanderson were on target for FC Krasnodar.
Monday's match features defending champions CSKA Moscow against Samara in the capital which completes the second round of matches.
Source: AFP
