Sergei Semak scores for Zenit in the 2nd half. (AP Images)Soccer in the cold. My fellow fans here at the RioT know all about going out to support the club in the cold and snow, as do our rivals in Colorado. However, this Champions League match was a different story. Match time temperatures in St. Petersburg were below zero, and the pitch wasn't in good shape, as the Russian league is still in the midst of their winter break.
Still the two sides made the best of it. Both of these two teams must have been happy to be drawn against the other, instead of the likes of Barca, Milan, or Real Madrid. Both teams came out positive, though Benfica was the better. There weren't a lot of chances, but both sides took turns on the ball. Benfica finally broke through in the 20th minute. Oscar Cardozo sent a free kick in on goal, but the Zenit 'keeper knocked it back into play instead of turning it wide, and Maxi Pereira easily tapped in the rebound to make it 0-1.
Then Zenit woke up. They hadn't played a competitive match since early December, but going down a goal down really jolted their attack to life. In the 22nd minute Alexander Kerzhakov put a nice shot in toward the bottom corner that was kick saved by Artur. Finally in the 27th minute Tomas Hubocan sent in a cross that Roman Shirakov knocked in on a side-footed volley and tied the match at 1-1, which was the half time result.
Zenit came out in charge in the second half as well. Still they didn't create a lot of chances early, but the match opened up more and more, as Zenit knew Benfica already had the all important away goal. In the 71st minute Kerzhakov sent a ball in front of goal that fell to Sergei Semak. He brilliantly flicked it into the goal with a gorgeous back heel to make it 2-1 to Zenit.
As the match progressed toward the end, both sides seemed to be fairly satisfied with the score line. Zenit had the lead and Benfica, who has been unstoppable at home, had the away goal. Yet they were able to equalize from another blunder by the Zenit 'keeper. In the 87th minute he gave up yet another easy rebound that Cardozo walked in to make it 2-2.
The goalkeeping blunders were not done though, and they struck Benfica in the very next minute. Artur couldn't hold on to the ball and Shirokov found it as his feet totally unmarked. It was Zenit's turn for a tap in and they capitalized for the game winning goal. The full time result was 3-2.
The result gives Zenit a precious lead to take to Portugal in a few weeks. However, giving up one away goal is bad enough, two is even worse. Benfica must still fancy their chances. All they'll need is a 1-0 win. If Zenit's keeper could have done better, they would be totally in charge of the tie.
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