Zenit closes in on Russian title with win

MOSCOW (AP) - Zenit St. Petersburg closed in on the Russian Premier League title on Sunday with a 1-0 win over relegation-threatened Arsenal Tula.

The victory leaves Zenit eight points clear of FC Krasnodar at the top of the standings with five games left.

The match was settled by Axel Witsel’s 17th-minute header off a free kick from Hulk as Zenit gained revenge for a surprise Russian Cup elimination at Arsenal’s hands in their last encounter.

Andre Villas-Boas’ team is chasing its first Russian title since 2012. Of Zenit’s five remaining opponents, three are battling relegation and none is ranked higher than sixth.

Defeat ends a three-game winning run for Arsenal, which sits in 14th, in the relegation playoff places, in its first season in the Premier League.

Second-placed Krasnodar beat Lokomotiv Moscow 1-0 on Saturday with a penalty from Uruguayan midfielder Mauricio Pereyra, tightening the team from southern Russia’s hold on the second of the two Champions League spots.

Sitting in seventh with just one win from its last seven league games, Lokomotiv has fallen far short of ambitions to qualify for the Champions League this season, and there is widespread speculation over coach Miodrag Bozovic’s future.

Elsewhere, third-placed CSKA Moscow sits four points behind Krasnodar after beating Torpedo Moscow 2-0 on Saturday. Bibras Natkho set up Carlos Strandberg for the opening goal then added the second himself in a result that ends a three-game losing run for reigning champion CSKA.

Fourth-placed Dynamo Moscow’s chances of Champions League qualification were dented Sunday in a 2-2 draw with FC Rostov, which sits 11th and now seems likely to avoid relegation after spending most of the season so far at the foot of the table.

Another team challenging for the Champions League took a blow as Rubin Kazan lost 1-0 to Spartak Moscow. Rubin is now eight points off the qualification zone.

In other results, relegation candidate Amkar Perm surprised Terek Grozny in a 2-1 win Saturday, after Friday saw FC Ufa beat Kuban Krasnodar 3-2 and Mordovia Saransk defeat Ural Yekaterinburg 2-1.