Moscow: Brazilian striker Hulk scored twice to bury the controversy of being axed from the World Cup draw as reigning champions Zenit St Petersburg cruised to a 4-1 win at Ural Yekaterinburg.
Hulk had been set to feature alongside the likes of compatriot Ronaldo and Samuel Eto’o at Saturday’s draw for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, just days after blasting the country’s record on racism in the sport.
However, his removal from the ceremony was attributed to him having to make the 1,000-mile trip to Yekaterinburg for Sunday’s game.
As well as his brace, Russian international Artem Dzyuba and Portuguese Miguel Danny were also on target as Zenit went top of the Russian Premier League table.