Sardar Azmoun scored a hat-trick as Zenit thrashed Ural 7-1 in the Russian Premier League to move nine points clear at the top.

While the coronavirus pandemic has caused a host of postponements across Europe’s major leagues, top-flight action is continuing in Russia.

Iran international Azmoun made the most of the opportunity to play in a game that was likely to have attracted an enhanced audience by netting a sparkling treble.

Zenit led by four after 27 minutes, by which point Azmoun had scored twice along with strikes from Artem Dzyuba and Malcom, who netted his first goal since a big-money move from Barcelona in August.

Azmoun completed his hat-trick just after the hour mark, and a penalty from Ural’s Andrey Panyukov was responded to by the hosts when Sebastian Driussi struck to cap a fine counter-attack and Dzyuba netted a spot-kick.

Azmoun’s hat trick is a breath of fresh air for Iran’s football. A series of bad news including the suspension of all football activities, cancelation of Team Melli matches and the turmoil between FIFA and FFIRI with the possibility of suspending the federation if the Statutes are not amended to conform with FIFA’s, have left the Iranian fans despondent and dejected.

It was not just the goals that were making the headlines, but Azmoun’s overall performance in this match was nothing short of brilliant. Azmoun has scored 10 goals this season and ranked third in the goal scorers table.