10-MAN SPARTAK Moscow failed to close the gap on Anzhi when they suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of minnows Saransk, after Irish international Aiden McGeady scored before being sent off.
Spartak, still without manager Valery Karpin, who is serving a three-match ban for abusing the referee in the derby with CSKA, remain fourth with 44 points from 27 matches — 13 points behind CSKA.
Spartak got off to a flying start, taking the lead in the sixth minute through McGeady, who fired the ball into the net from 12 metres after a one-two with Pavel Yakovlev.
McGeady was then sent off in the 40th minute for a foul on Vladimir Bozovic.
The hosts levelled four minutes after the restart through midfielder Andrei Pazin with Romanian forward Daniel Oprita netting the winner in the 70th minute.
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Additional reporting by Paul Fennessy