Zenit Kazan defeated Novosibirsk 3-1 in a club friendly match on 1 October 2026. The result reverses the pair's most recent meeting, when the visitors had won 3-0 at their own ground on 22 September. and here's the thing — this time Kazan controlled the encounter from start to finish.
There were no other details supplied about the match itself. No goalscorers, no substitutions, no statistics on possession or shots. Just the final scoreline and the fact that Kazan had not beaten their rivals in either of the two previous fixtures.
The history between these sides reads like a proper rivalry. Novosibirsk won both meetings this year before that September encounter — 3-2 and 3-0 — while Kazan's only victory in their five most recent games against each other came in May with a 3-0 win.
to be fair, three goals versus one suggests Kazan created more opportunities, though without shot data we cannot say whether the visitors camped in their own half or simply missed chances. What we know is the scoreboard told a different story from the previous autumn.
The friendly offered no league implications, but it did break Novosibirsk's run of beating Kazan in consecutive matches. The Kazan side had lost their last two meetings before this one — that clean-sheet run came to an end for both teams now.
