In the opening round of the Alfa-Bank of the Russian Premier League, Tolyatti Akron and Zenit St. Petersburg met at the Solidarity Samara Arena. The visitors seized the initiative from the first minute and led 3-0 by halftime thanks to Alexander Sobolev's double in the 7th and 18th minutes, as well as Gustavo Mantuan's accurate shot from long range in the 34th or 35th minute. The second half began with a double substitution for the blue-white-blues: Felipe Augusto and Vyacheslav Karavaev entered the field instead of Wilmar Barrios and Maxim Glushenkov, and the captain's armband passed to Wendel. The Brazilian newcomer, who joined the squad this summer from Turkish Trabzonspor, managed to distinguish himself and set the final score 5:0.
