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Zenit starts UEFA Cup playoffs with win
Published: 18 February, 2009, 22:30
Defending UEFA Cup champions Zenit have won their first match in the UEFA Cup playoff stage, beating German side VfB Stuttgart 2 -1 on home soil.
It was the first game of the season for the St Petersburg club and the first without the club’s former star player, Andrey Arshavin, who moved London side Arsenal last month.
Zenit new boys Igor Semshov, who came from Dinamo Moscow, and Hungarian Szabolcs Huszti, bought as a replacement for Arshavin from German club Hannover 96, were both in the starting lineup. And it took them just two minutes to create the first goal of the game.
Stuttgart keeper Jens Lehmann saved Semshov’s powerful shot but Huszti was first to the rebound to put the ball in the net.
But the German side, who sit 7th in the Bundesliga, were quickly back in the game. Mario Gomez fired a shot in from outside the box and beat Zenit ‘keeper Vyacheslav Malafeev at his near post – 1-1 after 14 minutes, and a vital away goal for the Germans.
It seemed the first half would end with a level score. But the hosts pushed forward in stoppage time and were rewarded with a goal. The referee didn’t stop the game after Danni was brought down not far from Stuttgart's box to let Anatoly Tymoschuk make it 2-1 for Zenit.
The Ukrainian should get used to scoring against German opposition as Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich have confirmed he’ll be joining them from Zenit in the summer for 11 million euros.
Zenit pressed for more goals after half-time. Russian international Pavel Pogrebnyak failed to take advantage of some good scoring opportunities, while Portuguese Danni was also very active.
But it was the Germans who could have levelled the score in the final seconds of the game as another effort from Gomez was saved by the Russian keeper – and 2-1 it ended.
The packed Petrovsky stadium saw Zenit collect their first win of 2009 but the away game in Stuttgart is going to be a tough encounter for Zenit as the Germans bring a vital away goal and a 1-0 win will be enough to take them to the last 16.
Aston Villa 1 – CSKA Moscow 1
CSKA went ahead in the middle of the first half. Brazilian Wagner Love slipped the ball past Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan in a sharp counterattack.
The home side equalized after the break. Muscovite’s goalie Igor Akinfeev couldn’t stop the ball from going into the net after a powerful shot from Norwegian striker John Carew.
CSKA remains unbeaten in the tournament.
Dinamo Kiev 1 – Valencia 1
Dinamo Kiev came from behind to achieve a draw in a home clash with Valencia. The Spaniards scored both goals of the night with Silva putting them in front and Albiol making it 1-1 scoring an own goal.
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