Saint Petersburg's Zenit kicked off the new Russian Premier League (RPL) season with a dominant 5-0 away victory over Akron of Tolyatti, reports infohub.kz.
The match, part of the 2026/27 season's first round, took place at Solidarnost Samara Arena. Russian striker Aleksandr Sobolev scored a brace (7th and 18th minutes). Three Brazilians also found the net: defender Gustavo Mantuan (34th), midfielder John John (78th), and forward Felipe Augusto (84th).
Kazakhstan national team defender Nuraly Alip was named in Zenit's squad but did not play. He also missed the Russian Super Cup match, where Zenit defeated Moscow's Spartak on penalties.
Zenit top the RPL table with three points, while Akron have none.
In another round fixture, Moscow's Dynamo drew 0-0 at home with Samara's Krylya Sovetov. Midfielder Bakhtiyar Zainutdinov was not in Dynamo's squad. New Dynamo head coach Sandro Schwartz noted that Kazakhstan's all-time leading scorer continues to struggle with health issues.