2020–21 Russian Premier League

The 2020–21 Russian Premier League（known as the Tinkoff Russian Premier League, also written as Tinkoff Russian Premier Liga for sponsorship reasons）was the 29th season of the premier football competition in Russia since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the 17th under the current Russian Premier League name.

Russian Premier League
Season2020–21
Dates8 August 2020 – 16 May 2021
ChampionsZenit Saint Petersburg
RelegatedRotor Volgograd
Tambov (dissolved)
Champions LeagueZenit Saint Petersburg
Spartak Moscow
Europa LeagueLokomotiv Moscow
Europa Conference LeagueRubin Kazan
Sochi
Matches played240
Goals scored637 (2.65 per match)
Top goalscorerArtem Dzyuba (20 goals)
Biggest home winZenit Saint Petersburg 6–0 Ufa
(26 September 2020)
Zenit Saint Petersburg 6–0 Rotor Volgograd
(24 April 2021)
Biggest away winKrasnodar 0–5 Akhmat Grozny
(3 April 2021)
Highest scoringKrasnodar 7–2 Khimki
(18 September 2020)
Longest winning run8 matches
Lokomotiv Moscow
Longest unbeaten run10 matches
Khimki
Longest winless run19 matches
Tambov
Longest losing run11 matches
Tambov
Highest attendance39,793
Zenit Saint Petersburg 6–1 Lokomotiv Moscow
(2 May 2021)
Lowest attendance539
Khimki 2–1 Ufa
(27 February 2021)
Excluding the games played without fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the games played with restricted attendance for the same reason
Total attendance1,878,441[1]
Average attendance8,239[1]

Teams

As in the previous season, 16 teams are playing in the 2020–21 season. After the 2019–20 season, Orenburg and Krylia Sovetov were relegated to the 2020–21 Russian Football National League. Both return to the second tier after a two-year stay in the top tier. They were replaced by Rotor and Khimki, the winners and runners up of the 2019–20 Russian Football National League. Rotor Volgograd returned to the Premier League after a 16-year absence, while Khimki returned after an 11-year absence.

Venues
Zenit Saint Petersburg Rotor Khimki Rostov
Krestovsky Stadium Volgograd Arena Arena Khimki Rostov Arena
Capacity: 67,800 Capacity: 45,568 Capacity: 18,636 Capacity: 45,000
Spartak Moscow
Locations of teams in 2020–21 Russian Premier League
Locations of teams in 2020-21 Russian Premier League in Moscow
 Ural Yekaterinburg
Otkritie Arena Central Stadium
Capacity: 44,307 Capacity: 35,696
Krasnodar Akhmat Grozny
Krasnodar Stadium Akhmat-Arena
Capacity: 34,291 Capacity: 30,597
CSKA Moscow Lokomotiv Moscow
VEB Arena RZD Arena
Capacity: 30,457 Capacity: 27,320
Sochi Tambov
Fisht Olympic Stadium Mordovia Arena
Capacity: 47,659 Capacity: 44,442
Arsenal Tula Dynamo Moscow Ufa Rubin Kazan
Arsenal Stadium VTB Arena Neftyanik Stadium Ak Bars Arena
Capacity: 20,048 Capacity: 26,319 Capacity: 15,132 Capacity: 45,093

    Personnel and kits
    Team Location Head coach Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
    Akhmat Grozny Russia Andrei Talalayev Kosovo Bernard Berisha Germany Adidas Akhmat Foundation
    Arsenal Tula Ukraine Dmytro Parfenov Russia Yevgeni Lutsenko Germany Adidas SPLAV
    CSKA Moscow Croatia Ivica Olić Russia Igor Akinfeev Spain Joma X-Holding
    Dynamo Moscow Germany Sandro Schwarz Russia Anton Shunin Spain Kelme VTB
    Khimki Khimki Tajikistan Igor Cherevchenko Russia Dmitri Tikhiy Germany Puma Parimatch
    Krasnodar Krasnodar Belarus Viktor Goncharenko Russia Matvei Safonov Germany Puma 1XBET
    Lokomotiv Moscow Serbia Marko Nikolić Croatia Vedran Ćorluka Germany Adidas RZhD
    Rostov Rostov-on-Don Russia Valeri Karpin Russia Maksim Osipenko Germany Puma TNS Energo
    Rotor Volgograd Tajikistan Yuri Baturenko Russia Sergei Makarov United States Nike Marathonbet
    Rubin Kazan Russia Leonid Slutsky Croatia Filip Uremović Germany Jako TAIF
    Sochi Sochi Russia Vladimir Fedotov Russia Soslan Dzhanayev United States Nike
    Spartak Moscow Italy Domenico Tedesco Russia Georgi Dzhikiya United States Nike Lukoil
    Tambov Tambov Russia Sergei Pervushin Russia Aleksandr Denisov United States Nike Parimatch
    Ufa Ufa Russia Aleksei Stukalov Slovenia Bojan Jokić Spain Joma BetBoom
    Ural Yekaterinburg Russia Yuri Matveyev Ukraine Denys Kulakov United States Nike TMK
    Zenit Saint Petersburg Russia Sergei Semak Croatia Dejan Lovren United States Nike Gazprom

    Managerial changes
    Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table
    Akhmat Grozny Russia Igor Shalimov Contract expired 26 July 2020[2] Off-season Russia Andrei Talalayev 26 July 2020[2] Off-season
    Khimki Russia Sergei Yuran Fired 1 August 2020[3] Off-season Russia Dmitri Gunko 1 August 2020[4] Off-season
    Khimki Russia Dmitri Gunko Mutual consent 21 September 2020[5] 15th Tajikistan Igor Cherevchenko 25 September 2020[6] 15th
    Dynamo Russia Kirill Novikov Resigned 29 September 2020[7] 9th Belarus Alyaksandr Kulchy (caretaker) 29 September 2020 9th
    Ufa Russia Vadim Evseev Mutual consent 7 October 2020[8] 15th Tajikistan Rashid Rakhimov 11 October 2020[9] 15th
    Dynamo Belarus Alyaksandr Kulchy (caretaker) End of role 14 October 2020 6th Germany Sandro Schwarz 14 October 2020[10] 6th
    Arsenal Russia Sergei Podpaly[11] Fired 2 November 2020 13th Ukraine Dmytro Parfenov 2 November 2020 13th
    Rotor Belarus Alyaksandr Khatskevich Fired 19 March 2021[12] 13th Tajikistan Yuri Baturenko 20 March 2021[13] 13th
    CSKA Belarus Viktor Goncharenko Mutual consent 22 March 2021[14] 5th Croatia Ivica Olić 23 March 2021[15] 5th
    Ufa Tajikistan Rashid Rakhimov Resigned 3 April 2021[16] 15th Russia Nikolai Safronidi (caretaker) 3 April 2021 15th
    Krasnodar Russia Murad Musayev Resigned 3 April 2021[17] 10th Belarus Viktor Goncharenko 6 April 2021[18] 10th
    Ufa Russia Nikolai Safronidi (caretaker) End of role 9 April 2021 15th Russia Aleksei Stukalov 9 April 2021[19] 15th

    Tournament format and regulations

    Basic

    The 16 teams were playing a round-robin tournament whereby each team plays each one of the other teams twice, once at home and once away. Thus, a total of 240 matches was played, with 30 matches played by each team.[20]

    Promotion and relegation

    The teams that finish 15th and 16th will be relegated to the FNL 2021–22, while the top 2 in that league will be promoted to the 2021–22 season.[20]

    The 13th and 14th Premier League teams will play the 4th and 3rd FNL 2020–21 teams respectively in two (home-and-away) playoff games with the winners securing Premier League spots for the 2021–22 season. In case one of the Premier League teams that finish 13th and 14th will not pass licensing for the 2021–22 Premier League season, the other Premier League club will remain in the league, and the 3rd and 4th FNL teams will play each other in a two games playoff for the remaining spot. In case one of the FNL teams that finish 3rd and 4th will not pass licensing for the 2021–22 Premier League season, the team that finished Premier League in 13th place will remain in the league, and the team that finished 14th will play the FNL team that passed licensing in a two game playoffs, with the winner securing the Premier League spot. In case only two of the clubs otherwise eligible for the playoffs pass licensing for the 2020–21 season, the playoffs will not be held and the clubs that passed licensing will get the Premier League spots. In case any teams otherwise eligible for the 2021–22 Premier League (including the top 2 2020–21 FNL clubs) will not pass licensing or will be unable to participate in the season for any other reason, the spots will be passed on to the teams that lost in the playoffs, in order of their 2020–21 league position, with the Premier League positions considered higher than FNL positions (for example, if 13th Premier League team and 3rd FNL team lose in the playoffs, the spot will go to the 13th Premier League team). If, after following these procedures, there are still 2021–22 Premier League spots available (in case 3 or more teams otherwise qualified are unable to participate), the remaining replacements will be chosen by the Russian Football Union with agreement of the Premier League and FNL.[20]

    2nd and 4th FNL teams (FC Orenburg and FC Alania Vladikavkaz) failed licensing for the 2021–22 Premier League season (due to lack of acceptable stadium), their appeal was denied on 12 May 2021.[21] On 15 May 2021, Russian Football Union confirmed that the relegation playoffs will not be held.[22] RFU also amended the playoff regulations accordingly.[23] If the original version of the regulations was followed to the letter, FC Nizhny Novgorod would have faced FC Arsenal Tula in a home-and-away playoff series, and then the loser of the series would be promoted into the Premier League anyway, rendering the playoffs meaningless.

    Season events

    On 13 September 2020, the league cancelled the game between FC Rotor Volgograd and FC Krasnodar due to more than 7 positive COVID-19 tests among the Rotor players and staff.[24] On 16 September 2020, Russian Football Union assigned a 3–0 victory to Krasnodar.[25] On 18 September 2020, the league cancelled the game between FC Rostov and Rotor originally scheduled for 19 September due to continuing positive virus tests at Rotor.[26] On 22 September 2020, Russian Football Union assigned a 3–0 victory to Rostov.[27]

    League table
    Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
    1 Zenit Saint Petersburg (C) 30 19 8 3 76 26 +50 65 Qualification for the Champions League group stage
    2 Spartak Moscow 30 17 6 7 56 37 +19 57 Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round
    3 Lokomotiv Moscow 30 17 5 8 45 35 +10 56 Qualification for Europa League group stage[lower-alpha 1]
    4 Rubin Kazan 30 16 5 9 42 33 +9 53[lower-alpha 2] Qualification for the Europa Conference League third qualifying round[lower-alpha 1]
    5 Sochi 30 15 8 7 49 33 +16 53[lower-alpha 2] Qualification for the Europa Conference League second qualifying round[lower-alpha 1]
    6 CSKA Moscow 30 15 5 10 51 33 +18 50[lower-alpha 3]
    7 Dynamo Moscow 30 15 5 10 44 33 +11 50[lower-alpha 3]
    8 Khimki 30 13 6 11 35 39 −4 45
    9 Rostov 30 13 4 13 37 35 +2 43
    10 Krasnodar 30 12 5 13 52 45 +7 41
    11 Akhmat Grozny 30 11 7 12 36 38 −2 40
    12 Ural Yekaterinburg 30 7 13 10 26 36 −10 34
    13 Ufa 30 6 7 17 26 46 −20 25
    14 Arsenal Tula 30 6 5 19 28 51 −23 23
    15 Rotor Volgograd (R) 30 5 7 18 15 52 −37 22 Relegation to the Football National League
    16 Tambov (D) 30 3 4 23 19 65 −46 13 Dissolved after the season[lower-alpha 4]
    Source: Premier Liga
    Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head matches won; 4) Head-to-head goal difference; 5) Head-to-head goals scored; 6) Matches won; 7) Goal difference; 8) Goals scored; 9) Play-off.
    (C) Champions; (D) Disqualified; (R) Relegated
    Notes:
    1. FC Lokomotiv Moscow qualified for the Europa League group stage by winning the 2020–21 Russian Cup. The Europa Conference League spot awarded to the third-placed team is passed to fourth-placed team, and the spot awarded to the fourth-placed team is passed to fifth-placed team.
    2. Head-to-head points: Rubin 3, Sochi 3. Overall matches won: Rubin 16, Sochi 15.
    3. Head-to-head points: CSKA 3, Dynamo 3. Head-to-head goal difference: CSKA +1, Dynamo -1.
    4. On 19 May 2021, FC Tambov announced that most of the staff and players were released from their contracts and the club began the process of liquidation.[28]

    Results
    Home \ Away AKH ARS CSK DYN KHI KRA LOK ROS ROT RUB SOC SPA TAM UFA URA ZEN
    Akhmat Grozny — 2–0 0–3 1–2 3–1 2–0 0–0 0–1 3–1 0–0 0–1 2–2 3–1 3–1 2–0 2–2
    Arsenal Tula 0–0 — 2–1 2–0 1–1 1–0 0–3 2–3 1–1 2–4 3–2 1–2 4–0 2–3 1–0 0–0
    CSKA Moscow 2–0 5–1 — 3–1 2–2 3–1 0–1 2–0 2–0 1–2 1–1 3–1 2–1 1–1 2–2 2–3
    Dynamo Moscow 1–0 1–0 3–2 — 0–1 2–0 5–1 2–0 0–0 0–1 3–1 1–2 2–0 4–0 2–2 1–0
    Khimki 1–2 1–0 0–2 1–0 — 1–0 3–2 1–0 1–1 2–0 0–0 2–3 1–0 2–1 1–0 0–2
    Krasnodar 0–5 2–0 1–1 2–3 7–2 — 5–0 1–1 5–0 3–1 1–3 1–3 1–0 1–0 2–2 2–2
    Lokomotiv Moscow 2–3 1–0 2–0 0–0 2–1 1–0 — 4–1 1–2 3–1 3–1 2–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 0–0
    Rostov 3–0 1–0 1–3 4–1 0–2 1–3 0–0 — 3–0 0–1 0–0 2–3 2–0 0–1 1–0 0–2
    Rotor Volgograd 1–0 1–0 0–1 0–3 0–0 0–3 0–2 0–4 — 1–3 1–2 0–1 0–2 1–0 0–0 0–2
    Rubin Kazan 1–1 3–1 1–0 2–0 1–3 0–1 0–2 0–2 1–1 — 1–0 0–2 2–2 3–0 1–1 2–1
    Sochi 2–0 4–0 2–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 2–1 4–2 2–1 3–2 — 1–0 5–0 1–1 0–0 1–2
    Spartak Moscow 2–0 2–1 1–0 1–1 2–1 6–1 2–1 0–1 2–0 0–2 2–2 — 5–1 0–3 5–1 1–1
    Tambov 0–1 1–1 1–2 1–2 1–0 0–4 2–5 0–1 1–3 0–1 0–1 0–2 — 2–0 1–1 1–5
    Ufa 3–0 2–1 0–1 1–1 1–2 0–3 0–1 0–1 0–0 0–3 2–3 1–1 4–0 — 1–2 0–0
    Ural Yekaterinburg 1–1 2–0 0–2 0–2 3–1 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 0–1 1–0 2–2 0–0 0–0 — 1–1
    Zenit Saint Petersburg 4–0 3–1 2–1 3–1 2–0 3–1 6–1 2–2 6–0 1–2 3–1 3–1 4–1 6–0 5–1 —
    Updated to match(es) played on 16 May 2021. Source: Russian Premier League
    Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
    For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

    Positions by round

    The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards.

    Team ╲ Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930
    Zenit Saint Petersburg211112111113222111111111111111
    Spartak Moscow746221322221333322343222233222
    Lokomotiv Moscow3334781086544788767876433322333
    Rubin Kazan1210131281069899989109109998686544444
    Sochi897333245467656876434547775555
    CSKA Moscow425895434332111233222354456666
    Dynamo Moscow552544559685444545665765667777
    Khimki1514151515151515141414141414121212111110101099888888
    Rostov6710966873756565454557978999999
    Krasnodar164710976787810109109878981010101110101110
    Akhmat Grozny10138657910101010109776810101111111111111011111011
    Ural Yekaterinburg131112101211111111111313111111111112121212121212121212121212
    Ufa1689111312131415151516161616151414151514151515151414151413
    Arsenal Tula91214131113141212121112131213131313141415141414131313131314
    Rotor Volgograd141516161616161616161615151515161616131313131313141515141515
    Tambov111611141414121313131211121314141515161616161616161616161616
    Updated to match(es) played on 16 May 2021. Source: https://eng.premierliga.ru/tournaments/championship/tournament-table/

    Season statistics

    Top goalscorers
    As of matches played on 16 May 2021.[29]
    Rank Player Club Goals
    1 Russia Artem Dzyuba Zenit Saint Petersburg 20
    2 Iran Sardar Azmoun Zenit Saint Petersburg 19
    3 Sweden Jordan Larsson Spartak Moscow 15
    4 Serbia Đorđe Despotović Rubin Kazan 14
    Russia Aleksandr Sobolev Spartak Moscow
    6 Ecuador Christian Noboa Sochi 12
    7 Croatia Nikola Vlašić CSKA Moscow 11
    8 Sweden Marcus Berg Krasnodar 9
    Russia Vladimir Ilyin Akhmat Grozny
    Poland Grzegorz Krychowiak Lokomotiv Moscow
    Argentina Ezequiel Ponce Spartak Moscow
    Russia Anton Zabolotny Sochi

    Top assists
    As of matches played on 16 May 2021.[30]
    Rank Player Club Assists
    1 Ecuador Christian Noboa Sochi 7
    Brazil Douglas Santos Zenit Saint Petersburg
    3 Russia Artem Dzyuba Zenit Saint Petersburg 6
    Russia Ilya Kukharchuk Khimki
    Russia Timofei Margasov Sochi
    Poland Sebastian Szymański Dynamo Moscow
    7 Russia Soltmurad Bakayev Rubin Kazan 5
    Russia Zelimkhan Bakayev Spartak Moscow
    Sweden Viktor Claesson Krasnodar
    Russia Aleksei Ionov Krasnodar
    Czech Republic Alex Král Spartak Moscow
    Sweden Jordan Larsson Spartak Moscow
    Russia Anton Miranchuk Lokomotiv Moscow
    Croatia Nikola Vlašić CSKA Moscow
    Russia Rifat Zhemaletdinov Lokomotiv Moscow

    Season awards

    Russian Football Union awards

    On 15 July 2021, Russian Football Union named its list of 33 top players:[31]

    Other awards announced by RFU on the same day included:

    Russian Premier League awards

    References
    1. "League statistics" (in Russian). Russian Premier League. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
    2. "Андрей Талалаев назначен главным тренером ФК "Ахмат"" (in Russian). FC Akhmat Grozny. 26 July 2020.
    3. "СЕРГЕЙ ЮРАН ПОКИДАЕТ "ХИМКИ"" (in Russian). FC Khimki. 1 August 2020.
    4. "ДМИТРИЙ ГУНЬКО - ГЛАВНЫЙ ТРЕНЕР "ХИМОК"" (in Russian). FC Khimki. 1 August 2020.
    5. ""ХИМКИ" ПРЕКРАЩАЮТ СОТРУДНИЧЕСТВО С ДМИТРИЕМ ГУНЬКО ПО ОБОЮДНОМУ СОГЛАСИЮ" (in Russian). FC Khimki. 21 September 2020.
    6. "ИГОРЬ ЧЕРЕВЧЕНКО ВОЗГЛАВИЛ "ХИМКИ"" (in Russian). FC Khimki. 25 September 2020.
    7. "Руководство "Динамо" приняло отставку Кирилла Новикова" (in Russian). FC Dynamo Moscow. 29 September 2020.
    8. "Вадим Евсеев покидает пост главного тренера" (in Russian). FC Ufa. 7 October 2020.
    9. "Рашид Рахимов – главный тренер ФК Уфа!". fcufa.pro/ (in Russian). FC Ufa. 11 October 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
    10. "Сандро Шварц — новый главный тренер футбольного клуба "Динамо" Москва". fcdynamo.ru/ (in Russian). FC Dynamo Moscow. 14 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
    11. "ДМИТРИЙ ПАРФЕНОВ – ГЛАВНЫЙ ТРЕНЕР "АРСЕНАЛА"" [Dmytro Parfenov is the head coach of Arsenal] (in Russian). FC Arsenal Tula. 2 November 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
    12. "АЛЕКСАНДР ХАЦКЕВИЧ ПОКИДАЕТ ПОСТ ГЛАВНОГО ТРЕНЕРА РОТОРА". rotor-vlg.com (in Russian). FC Rotor Volgograd. 19 March 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
    13. "ГЛАВНЫМ ТРЕНЕРОМ "РОТОРА" НАЗНАЧЕН ЮРИЙ БАТУРЕНКО". rotor-vlg.com (in Russian). FC Rotor Volgograd. 20 March 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
    14. "Виктор Ганчаренко покинул пост главного тренера ПФК ЦСКА". pfc-cska.com/ (in Russian). PFC CSKA Moscow. 22 March 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
    15. "Ивица Олич — главный тренер ПФК ЦСКА!". pfc-cska.com/ (in Russian). PFC CSKA Moscow. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
    16. "Рашид Рахимов покидает "Уфу"" (in Russian). FC ufaw. 3 April 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
    17. "Мурад Мусаев: "Сегодня был мой последний матч во главе "Краснодара"" (in Russian). Sport Express. 3 April 2021.
    18. "ВИКТОР ГАНЧАРЕНКО СТАЛ ГЛАВНЫМ ТРЕНЕРОМ КРАСНОДАРА". fckrasnodar.ru/ (in Russian). FC Krasnodar. 6 April 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
    19. "Алексей Стукалов возглавил футбольный клуб "Уфа"!". fcufa.pro/ (in Russian). FC Ufa. 9 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
    20. "Регламент Тинькофф Российской Премьер-Лиги сезона 2020/21" [Tinkoff Russian Premier League 2020–21 regulations] (PDF) (in Russian). Russian Premier League. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
    21. ""Оренбург" готов обратиться в CAS при недопуске в РПЛ в виде исключения" (in Russian). RIA Novosti. 12 May 2021.
    22. "Стыковых матчей РПЛ-ФНЛ не будет. «Оренбург» и «Алания» не получили лицензии, РФС не сделал для них исключения" (in Russian). Sports.ru. 15 May 2021.
    23. "Итоги Бюро Исполкома РФС" (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 15 May 2021.
    24. "Матч "Ротор" – "Краснодар" не состоится" (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 13 September 2020.
    25. "Итоги Контрольно-дисциплинарного комитета РФС" (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 16 September 2020.
    26. "Матч "Ростов" – "Ротор" не состоится" (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 18 September 2020.
    27. "Итоги КДК РФС" (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 22 September 2020.
    28. "В "Тамбове" сообщили, что футбольный клуб фактически прекратил существование" (in Russian). TASS. 19 May 2021.
    29. "Best Scorers". Russian Premier League. Archived from the original on 21 February 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
    30. "Top Assists". Russian Premier League. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
    31. "Итоги Исполкома РФС" (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 15 July 2021.
    32. "All individual award winners for RPL 2020/21 season". Russian Premier League. 26 May 2021.
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