Domestic leagues returned after the international break as St. Petersburg hosted Kuban for the 15th Day of the Russian Premier League.
First serious threat came on the 14′ minute from Kuban’s Oliseh who saw his powerful out of the box shot blocked by Lodygin on his left corner.
Zenit searched for ways into Belenov’s posts mainly with Hulk and saw their efforts paying out at the 37′ minute.
The Brazilian won a free kick at a convenient for his left foot spot, right at the edge of Kuban’s box but his shot was deflected and on the rebound landed a powerful right foot-shot into Belenov’s upper left corner, 1-0 to Zenit for half-time.
A couple of good chances from Rondon and Shatov failed to double the score and secure the victory for the Blue-White-Sky blues who were barely threatened from Kuban.
Hulk’s goal proved enough for Villas Boas’ squad, who returned to winning and extended their lead to +8 from second Krasnodar who earlier beat CSKA, taking the 2nd place on the table.
