For Zenit, the meeting with Lyon in the fifth round of the Champions League group stage was of paramount importance. Wards of Sergei Semak did not have the right to make a mistake, because the defeat actually deprived them of a chance to enter the playoffs of the tournament. And taking into account not the most powerful quartet, this could be regarded exclusively as a failure.
In a difficult situation, “Zenith” was after two consecutive defeats from the “Leipzig”. If after the second round Petersburgers led the quartet G, then at the end of the fourth they were already on the third line. Moreover, they let forward not only their offenders, but also Lyon. Although Rudy Garcia’s wards lost to “Benfica” at a party, they took convincing revenge at the “Stade de Lumiere”, breaking away from their pursuers.
Thus, the team of Semak had to confirm their claim to be in the 1/8 finals of the playoffs and take the upper hand over Lyon. And help for them was not only the home of Gazprom Arena, but also the loss of key players from the opponent. So, the best scorer and assistant of the season did not fly to St. Petersburg: Memphis Depay, who scored 10 goals in 13 matches, and Ussem Auar, who chalked up four assists.
The starting lineup of Zenit confirmed that the hosts intend to play in a more offensive manner than in a home meeting with Leipzig. Then the team was not only unable to achieve the desired result, but was also accused of cowardice. This time, blue-white-blue was almost obliged to act as the first number. In this regard, they switched to a scheme with two central defenders, and Sebastian Driussi and Daler Kuzyaev returned to the base. As for the missed RPL last match with Rubin Zhirkov and Shatov, Yuri was in reserve, and Oleg did not even get on the bench.
However, in the first minutes Rudy Garcia's wards looked more confident. They immediately took control of the game, which was not prevented even by the lack of leaders. Petersburgers almost all of the team stepped back and were forced to fight back. But the impulse of the guests was short-lived. The seizure of the initiative began with a long-range strike by Serdar Azmun, and continued with a beautiful multi-burst, culminating in a dangerous cross of Douglas Santos. A few minutes later, the Iranian was again in the spotlight and got a chance to go face to face with Antoni Lopes, but instead of the ball he hit the goalkeeper on the finger.
Closer to the middle of the inning, the meeting began to look more and more like a swing. Each of the teams alternately closed the opponent in his half of the field, conducting several dangerous attacks, after which he provided an opportunity for the opponent to fight back. At one point, Zenit loosened its grip too much and almost got into the role of a chasing one, but Mikhail Kerzhakov helped out. For several minutes, the goalkeeper first stopped the breakthrough of Mussa Dembele, and then did not allow Bertrand Traore to distinguish himself. The hosts responded with a powerful blow Kuzyaev from outside the penalty area and getting the same Azmun in the post. The Iranian again found himself in operational space and even threw the ball over Lopes, but the shell hit the goal frame.
The key episode of the first half occurred in the 42nd minute. Santos executed a free kick from the corner, but Artyom Dziuba turned out to be the quickest. The forward won the position against Marcelo and sent the ball into the net, for the fourth time in his career hitting the gates of Lyon. However, the guests immediately rushed to the referee, indicating that at the time of the attack, Azmun violated the rules on Fernando Marsala. There was a push in the back, but due to the fact that Serdar did not participate in the episode, the goal was counted. However, the Brazilian did not let up, for which he received a yellow card for disputes.
The ball in the locker room did not break the "weavers". The second half, the wards of Garcia began very actively and staged a real siege of the enemy’s goal. Petersburgers could only defend themselves, but they did not do it very confidently. Kerzhakov was increasingly forced to find himself at the epicenter of events, and at one point in his own penalty area were all 11 blue-white-blue players. At the same time, the owners themselves practically did not think about counterattacks, preferring to play the rebound.
By the 60th minute, the advantage of the guests was frightening. They looked much fresher vis-a-vis, owned the ball more than 60% of the time and carried out one attack after another. The speed of the actions of "Lyon" added the appearance on the field of Yussuf Kone. Kuzyaev noticeably got tired, as a result of which the left back almost did not meet resistance right up to the penalty area. Dembele was still active on the edge, but could not open the score for goals in the main club tournament of the Old World.
The actions of blue-white-blue were more and more clearly felt tired, but Semak refused to let out fresh athletes on the field. Dziubi looked more active than others and continued to fight on moral-volitional, but his partners practically did not support him. As always, Magomed Ozdoev looked charged, but this turned out to be a "mustard plaster" for him. The midfielder firmly entered Maxwell Korne’s leg and provoked the departure of the field. Replaced by 16-year-old Ryan Sherky.
Semak decided to refresh the game only in the last ten minutes. Instead of a drastically reduced productivity, Driussi came Yuri Zhirkov, and Alexander Erokhin replaced Azmuna. These permutations brought dividends after a few seconds. The first made a pitch from the right edge, the second made a discount on Ozdoev, and he doubled the advantage of the hosts. The blow was not the most powerful, but the rebound from the defender disoriented Lopes.
On the eve of another French team, Paris Saint-Germain demonstrated how to turn the tide of a match and play two goals in two minutes. But the Zenit players did not allow the rivals to repeat the compatriot’s feat and confidently brought the matter to victory. “Lyon” was only enough to hit Amin Guiri, who replaced, who did not really matter, because he was put offside.
Zenit won a second victory in the current Champions League draw and came in second place in Group G. Both teams gained seven points each, but in personal meetings Petersburgers are ahead.