Cool Zenit put Stuttgart to the sword

Stuttgart            1 – 2            FC Zenit St. Petersburg
Gebhart 80                               Semshov 42, Fayzulin 86

UEFA Cup holders FC Zenit St. Petersburg made light of the absence of captain Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, with goals from Igor Semshov and Viktor Fayzulin giving them a second 2-1 win against VfB Stuttgart.

Substitute strikes
Semshov put Dick Advocaat’s side ahead in the 42nd minute, and while Timo Gebhart pulled one back for the Bundesliga club with ten minutes to go, substitute Fayzulin capped a measured performance to set up a Round of 16 tie with Udinese Calcio. The Russian team will play the second leg at home.

Counterattacking force
While Tymoshchuk’s suspension left Zenit without their inspirational captain, they proved to be dangerous on the counterattack, and home goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was forced to save from Konstantin Zyryanov’s left-footed strike after 13 minutes. Mario Gómez responded for Stuttgart, firing just over from Cacau’s pass.

First-time shot
Cacau then clipped the Zenit post with a shot from the edge of the area and the Brazilian also missed from close range after Gómez’s chipped delivery sent him through on goal. That proved to be costly as Zenit went in front against the run of play, with Danny’s high cross from the touchline being dispatched by Semshov first-time past Lehmann from inside the box.

Hopes dashed
Zenit defended solidly after the interval but their rearguard was finally breached as a lacklustre attempted clearance allowed Gebhart to dart into the area, careering past three defenders before beating Vyacheslav Malafeev with his left foot. Stuttgart hopes were soon dashed though, Danny supplying the killer ball once more for Fayzulin to stab into the empty net with Lehmann already beaten.

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