The St. Petersburg club set a new record in the history of their rivalry with the red-and-whites, securing a 5-0 victory.
In the central match of the 23rd round of the Russian Premier League, Zenit crushed Spartak with a score of 5:0. This is the biggest victory for the blue-white-sky blues in the history of the derby against the red-whites. Ivan Sergeev scored a hat-trick and became the best player of the match.
Historic thrashing in the St. Petersburg derby
The match at Gazprom Arena turned into a true triumph for the hosts. By the 30th minute, Zenit was leading 3-0 thanks to a brace from Sergeyev and a goal from Claudinho. In the second half, the Petersburg team continued to dominate, adding two more goals past Alexei Sorokin.
We controlled the game from the first whistle to the last. Such matches remain in the club's history.
— Сергей Семак, главный тренер «Зенита»
Spartak's tactical failure
The red-and-white team looked helpless in all areas of the field. The absence of Kutepov in defense and Promes' injury before the match significantly weakened the team. Guilherme made several critical mistakes in organizing play, leading to a crushing defeat.
This defeat became Spartak's worst since 2018, when they lost to Zenit 1:4. Now the red-and-whites risk dropping out of the top three in the league.
After this victory, Zenit extended their lead over the closest pursuer to 7 points, firmly holding the top spot in the RPL standings.