A brace from Dutch midfielder Quincy Promes helped Russia’s most successful club Spartak Moscow, who have struggled since the winter break, to a 3-1 win at Mordovia Saransk Saturday.

The win lifted Spartak up to sixth with 39 points from 24 matches, 16 points behind the leaders Zenit, who face Kuban Krasnodar on Sunday.

FC Krasnodar and reigning champions CSKA Moscow, second and third respectively, will clash Sunday in a match that may decide the league’s runners-up and a Champions League place next season.

After a goalless first half Promes put the Muscovites 1-0 up in the 46th minute with a neat shot when he found himself unmarked just beyond the six-yard box after Denis Davydov’s cross from the left.

In the 78th minute Promes made it 2-0, firing the ball home also from the edge of the six-yard box from a well delivered Patrick Ebert corner.

Mordovia’s Senegalese fullback Ibrahima Niasse pulled one back in the last minute of regulation time but Armenian international striker Yura Movsisyan scored Spartak’s third in the second minute of stoppage time.

“I’m not the hero of the match, I’m just a lucky guy,” Promes said.

“Denis (Davydov) should be credited for the first goal. I just converted his cross. The second goal from a corner is a very rare occasion in my career. I was just in the right place at the right time.”

Elsewhere, two-time former champions Rubin Kazan beat the visitors Ural Yekaterinburg 2-1 to go fourth.

Forward Vladimir Dyadyun put Rubin into the lead just before the break when he headed home a precise cross from Elmir Nabiullin.

Midfielder Magomed Ozdoyev added his goal eight minutes after the interval, beating the visiting side’s keeper Nikolai Zabolotny with a precise 20-metre shot.

Ural fullback Alexander Yerokhin reduced the arrears in injury time but failed to save the day.

“It wasn’t an easy match as Ural are a well-organised team,” Rubin manager Renat Bulyaletdinov said.

“We played well but lost concentration in the last minutes allowing Ural to score. Luckily we managed to keep our lead.”