Published: 20 March, 2009, 12:36
Edited: 20 March, 2009, 12:36
Zenit and CSKA said goodbye to the UEFA Cup in the last 16 of the tournament om Thursday, leaving the coaches of both teams in search of answers.
CSKA expected a tough encounter at Shakhtar Donetsk but were confident after their 1-0 will at home.
The game ruined the Army Men's hopes as the Moscow team, which failed to find a replacement for disqualified winger Yury Zhirkov, resulting in their worst performance in months.
The Ukrainians dominated possession, securing the first goal from a penalty and grabbing the winner after a mistake from usually faultless Igor Akinfeev. CSKA's keeper dropped the ball after an aerial challenge, giving Luiz Adriano an open net.
Shakhtar progress into the quarter-finals winning 2-1 on aggregate.
“I'm scratching my head, but it's too soon after the defeat for me to find an explanation for it. I just couldn’t recognise my team,” Zico told Russia’s Sport Express news agency.
“A very painful defeat. But this is football,” he underlined.
Unlike Zico, his colleague from Zenit, Dick Advoccat, recognised his team with ease during the game against Udinese at the Petrovky stadium. After a 2-0 loss in Italy, the defending UEFA Cup champions had to score three goals to progress, which they could have achieved after bringing their trademark speed and aggression to the game.
“We played outstanding football in the first half and could’ve to scored more goals. The team had a great game, we had good chances but the defeat in Italy affected the overall result,” Dick Advocaat told Zenit's official website.
“In football you don’t always get what you deserve,” he added.
The hosts put the ball in the net just once, through Anatoly Timoschuk, and went down 2-1 on aggregate.
After the game, Zenit's captain and goal scorer remarked on a dubious decision by English referee Martin Atkinson who, he claimed, ignored an obvious hand ball in the Udinese box.
“It was 15 minutes when the referee could’ve pointed to the spot and shown a red card to an Italian player. If we then scored from a penalty, our rivals would’ve had no chance in the game,” Anatoly Timoschuk said to Sport Express newspaper.
Both CSKA and Zenit will now concentrate on their performance for Russia’s Premier League.