Dynamo hit seven to thrash Rostov in 10-goal thriller

Moscow: Dynamo Moscow kicked off their new Russian Premier League campaign on Sunday with a stunning 7-3 demolition of Rostov.

Russian international forward Alexander Kokorin scored a hat-trick, while veteran German striker Kevin Kuranyi added a brace. Congo star Christopher Samba and Hungary winger Balazs Dzsudzsak were also on target, while Rostov replied with a brace from forward Dmitry Poloz and a goal by Moldovan midfielder Alexander Gatskan. On Saturday, Dynamo signed France international playmaker Mathieu Valbuena from Marseille to boost their line-up ahead of the Europa League third qualifying round return leg against Hapoel Kiryat Shmona of Israel. Dynamo were held to a 1-1 draw by the Israeli club in the first leg. "Unlike Thursday`s match with Hapoel, today our attackers played very effectively," said Dynamo manager Stanislav Cherchesov. "It`s an encouraging sign ahead of the return leg. But I`m still concerned about our defence. They were much less impressive and allowed Rostov too much in attack especially in the first half. Two-time former champions Lokomotiv Moscow were held to a drab 0-0 draw by FC Krasnodar while in Sunday`s other match, Kuban Krasnodar defeated newly-promoted Ufa 2-0. Vladislav Ignatiev put Kuban ahead after 18 minutes before Bulgarian midfielder Ivelin Popov rounded off the scoring 14 minutes from time. Reigning champions CSKA Moscow and last season`s runners-up Zenit St Petersburg began the new season in winning fashion on Saturday, defeating Torpedo Moscow 4-1 and Arsenal Tula 4-0 respectively. On Monday, Terek Grozny will take on Amkar Perm.