Russia forward Fyodor Smolov scored twice as league leaders Lokomotiv Moscow continued their late-season wobble on Monday with a 2-0 defeat at Krasnodar.

A well-deserved win, in which Smolov followed a 67th minute penalty with his second of the game a minute later, saw Krasnodar pull level on 50 points with fourth-placed Zenit St Petersburg.

Lokomotiv's slip, meanwhile, could prove costly.

A win would have seen Yuri Semin's men secure their first domestic title since 2004. Instead, their winless streak has now stretched to three games and leaves Lokomotiv four points clear of city rivals and defending champions Spartak with two games remaining.

Spartak, who had lost their previous two games, maintained their slender hopes with a 2-0 win at Amkar Perm on Sunday.

Another Moscow side CSKA, who drew 0-0 with Zenit, sit third one point further back.

"Today's match demanded that we give everything we had to win," Krasnodar acting manager Murad Musaev said.

"We created plenty of chances and luckily managed to convert two of them into goals."

Smolov had a clear chance in the last minute of the first half but Lokomotiv 'keeper Guilherme produced a diving save.

After the break Krasnodar, spurred on by a capacity 34,000 home crowd, pressed forward and earned a penalty in the 67th minute when right winger Sergei Petrov was brought down and Smolov converted.

Smolov netted his second a minute later after a Lokomotiv defensive blunder, in the process joining Spartak's Dutch midfielder Quincy Promes on top of the league's scorers chart with 14 goals.