Makhachkala mark Eto’o bid with Dynamo triumph

Makhachkala celebrated their impending capture of Cameroon superstar Samuel Eto’o with a 2-1 defeat of Dynamo Moscow in the Russian Premier League on Sunday.

Dynamo stay third with 38 points, five points behind second-placed champions Zenit St Petersburg, who thrashed Samara 5-2 on Saturday, and seven behind league leaders CSKA Moscow, who outclassed 3-0 Tomsk.

Dynamo were trailing 1-0 after Anzhi’s Dutch midfielder Mbark Boussoufa beat goalkeeper Anton Shunin with a shot following a defensive mix-up after 22 minutes.

Ukrainian forward Andrei Voronin then levelled at 1-1 with just a minute remaining before the break, firing home from Alexander Kokorin’s right-wing cross.

But Anzhi striker Alexander Prudnikov scored the winning goal in the 71st minute, when he beat Shunin to take his team to fourth spot in the table.

Earlier Anzhi Makhachkala illustrated their big-spending muscle when it was revealed that a deal to bring Eto’o from Inter Milan was almost complete.

“The signing of the deal will likely take place on Monday or Tuesday at the latest, as long as Samuel successfully completes his medical,” Eto’o’s agent, Claudio Vigorelli, was quoted as saying.

Reports said that Anzhi will pay Inter 25 million euros ($36m) plus performance-related bonuses for the Cameroon skipper.

According to media rumours, Eto’o will receive around 20.5 million euros a year in wages, making him the world’s top-earning footballer.

Meanwhile, nine-time champions Spartak Moscow, who have improved in recent months, could only draw 1-1 with struggling Spartak Nalchik.

Spartak fell behind in the 26th minute when striker Arsen Goshokov scored with a close-range header. Artem Dzyuba netted the equaliser eight minutes after the interval.

Promoted Kuban Krasnodar recorded their 10th win of the season, thrashing another of the league’s rookies Volga Nizhny Novgorod 5-0.
Ivory Coast forward Lacina Traore scored twice in the first-half to give his team a comfortable 2-0 lead.

Romanian striker Gheorghe Bucur, midifelder Mikhail Komkov and forward Sergei Davydov added one apiece after the interval for the team managed by former Chelsea star Dan Petrescu.

“It’s a very important win for us,” Petrescu said. “There were plenty of rumours about a possible fixed character of the match.”

“I’m happy we managed to dismiss those rumours. Everyone should know that we’re playing on the football pitch only.”
 

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