Linar Khanov

Attacking Midfielder (L) - Zenit 2
1 Jan 2027
Friday
Process

Marked for Linar Khanov

17 Edition

The Zenit 2 Sentinel

23 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

The dugout

Maxim Zaitsev keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Zenit 2 may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Player ratings

Denis Terentjev pops up at the right end — 7.63

7.63, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.

Squad

Tempers go at Zenit 2

Bulat Sadykov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Match

Zenit 2 find a way past Kosmos

Kosmos made Zenit 2 work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Ivan Shilenok

Defensive actions: 17. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

The dugout

Sergei Chesnokov has his say

“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Sergei Chesnokov on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.

The dugout

Sergey Chernov has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Zenit 2 will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.

The dugout

Linar Khanov left out for tactical reasons at Zenit 2

The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.

Player ratings

Bulat Sadykov shuts the door

Defensive actions: 11, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

In brief

Back issues
14 Edition

The Zenit 2 Sentinel

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

No sign of nerves from Matvey Ivanov at 19 — 7.66

The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Matvey Ivanov did not need any: 7.66, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.

The terraces

Zenit 2 supporters have found a favourite in Linar Khanov

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Linar Khanov has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

Match

Linar Khanov the difference as Zenit 2 beat Cherepovets

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Linar Khanov. 1‑0 against Cherepovets, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Squad

A falling-out at Zenit 2

Maxim Zaitsev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Bogdan Levandovskiy named in the team of the month

A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Bogdan Levandovskiy is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.

The dugout

Sergei Chesnokov has his say

“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Sergei Chesnokov on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.

The dugout

No hiding place for Maxim Zaitsev

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Maxim Zaitsev, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Stanislav Karelin runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 12. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Market

Maxim Shichanin linked with a move away

The name of Maxim Shichanin keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Zenit 2 say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

9 Edition

The Zenit 2 Sentinel

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Matvey Ivanov, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 8.26

A mark of 8.26 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.

Squad

The step up is real for Nikita Vershinin

At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.

Player ratings

A goal and an assist for Linar Khanov — 7.57

Involvement in 2 goals, from a player who spent the ninety minutes doing the thing a manager actually wants: being where the ball was going to end up. 7.57 beside his name.

Squad

Tempers go at Zenit 2

Nikita Vershinin was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Match

Matvey Ivanov the difference as Zenit 2 beat Chertanovo

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Matvey Ivanov. 2‑1 against Chertanovo, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Linar Khanov

At 20 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.

Squad

Too much change too quickly at Zenit 2

18 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.

The dugout

A satisfied Sergei Chesnokov

“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑1, Sergei Chesnokov could afford to be generous.

The dugout

Sergey Chernov gets picked when it counts

Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Sergey Chernov is on it.

In brief

5 Edition

The Zenit 2 Sentinel

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

4 goals for Nikita Vershinin

The match ball belongs to Nikita Vershinin, whose 4 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.

Player ratings

Nikita Vershinin, 21, steals the show — 10.00

Marked 10.00 at 21, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.

Match

Nikita Vershinin among the goals in a wild afternoon

6 goals in one match, Nikita Vershinin on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Zenit 2 and Zvezda.

Match

Zenit 2 get the job done against Zvezda

A 4‑2 win over Zvezda, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Linar Khanov

At 20 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Konstantin Voinkov

Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Zenit 2 are still strangers to each other

17 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.

The dugout

Somebody else is better right now than Denis Terentjev

The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.

The dugout

Sergei Chesnokov has his say

“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Sergei Chesnokov on a 4‑2 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.

In brief