Rudenko Gives Lokomotiv Early Lead Over Zenit

Aleksandr Rudenko put Lokomotiv Moscow ahead at Zenit in the 18th minute of round 8 of the Alfa-Bank Premier League, finishing from Sergei Babkin's pass to make it 1-0.

Seconds before the goal, Ilya Yeremeyev and Vilmar Barrios had gone into a challenge, and the Colombian was still down on the turf when the ball went in. Referee Nikita Novikov saw no foul by the Lokomotiv midfielder and let the goal stand. The video assistants, with Artur Fedorov on VAR duty, did not call him to the monitor.

Rudenko, a forward who joined Lokomotiv in February 2026, has now scored for the club. Zenit trailed 1-0 at half-time.

It is the second time this month that a refereeing call involving Lokomotiv has drawn scrutiny: the Expert Refereeing Commission last week confirmed that Ivan Abrosimov was right to award Dinamo the penalty that decided their derby win over the same side. Should this goal also stand up to review, Lokomotiv will have benefited from two contested decisions inside a fortnight.