Russia 5-0 Saudi Arabia: Hosts ease to victory in World Cup opener | OneFootball

Russia cruised past Saudi Arabia to win the opening match of the 2018 World Cup.

After some early Saudi pressure with some smart one-touch football being played, it was Russia who took the lead through Yury Gazinsky.

CSKA starlet Aleksandr Golovin – who has been strongly linked with a move to Juventus – crossed beautifully to the back post for Gazinsky to head home.

Action was few and far between for the remainder of the first half, with Al Sahlawi going close for the Green Falcons from close range.

However, just before the break, Golovin again broke free before releasing Roman Zobnin, who set up substitute Denis Cheryshev to finish superbly.

The Villarreal man kept his composure to lob the ball over two Saudi defenders before smashing into the roof of the net.

The second half was a much duller affair with Russia content to sit on their lead and Saudi Arabia offering very little going forward.

Golovin was again a standout player for Stanislav Cherchesov’s men and often looked a cut above every other player on the pitch.

It was his pinpoint cross that found the head of Artem Dzyuba who made it 3-0, becoming the second player to score as a substitute after Cheryshev.

There was still time for more goals late on after some good work from Dzyuba, who set up Cheryshev to curl home a stunning finish with the outside of his foot.

Golovin then added a fifth in stoppage time with a perfect free kick from 20 yards out, adding another zero on to his very modest price tag and putting the Luzhniki Stadium in party mode.

You could not fault their work rate with the likes of Taisir Al-Jassam and Yahya Al Shehri impressing at times, but Saudi Arabia looked well off the pace.

The victory was a great start for the hosts who will now carry momentum going forward, while Mohamed Salah, Luis Suárez and Edinson Cavani lick their lips in anticipation.