Fedotov's position is rumoured to be under threat due to recent poor performances, and despite creating a hatful of chances Spartak fell to early goals from Sergei Semak and Roman Adamov.

Semak put FC Moscow ahead after just five minutes, beating the Spartak offside trap to volley into the net from close range via goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa and the post.

The second came in the 34th minute when Spartak defender Roman Shishkin got in a tangle to allow Adamov a clear run and comfortable finish.

Russia international striker Roman Pavluchenko, amongst others, was guilty of squandering two excellent first-half chances for Spartak.

Spartak have now failed to win in their last five games, a series which includes a 2-2 home draw to lowly Spartak Nalchik last weekend and an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Khimki a week earlier.

Amidst cries of "disgrace" from the stands, Fedotov sympathised with the fans' frustrations.

"It is a disgrace. You heard it yourself. The fact of the matter is that we find ourselves in a very difficult situation right now," he said afterwards.

"We've had a lot of injuries, and against Nalchik we were missing both our wide players. And I don't want to say anything else about our permanent defensive problems."

FC Moscow move to third in the table, a single point behind leaders CSKA Moscow and Zenit St Petersburg, but have a game in hand.

In the day's other game, midfielder Dmitri Khokhlov struck twice as Dinamo Moscow cruised to a 4-0 away victory over Kuban Krasnodar.

Khokhlov found the net in the 13th and 65th minutes, with a goal from Portuguese midfielder Miguel Danni in between.

Dmitri Kombarov rounded things off in the 83rd minute as Dinamo moved to sixth in the table.