For Zenit, the second meeting with Leipzig was, if not key, then of great importance. The second succession in a row could discard Sergei Semak's wards in third place in the group and seriously complicate the task of reaching the playoffs. Of course, even after that they could be considered favorites in the fight for the second trip, because they had a rather comfortable schedule, but putting off the solution of the issue to the guest game with the unpredictable “Benfica” would be an extremely risky step.
Therefore, many could be surprised that Sergei Semak decided to choose a more defensive model in his field. The mentor released three central defenders, and Douglas Santos and Igor Smolnikov were appointed responsible for the flanks. Was not on the field and one of the main organizers of the attacks of Sebastian Driussi, whose place was taken by Alexander Erokhin. At the same time, Mikhail Kerzhakov was called to defend the gate, and the injured Andrei Lunev did not get into the application.
Julian Nagelsman also could not do without surprises. Thus, Timo Werner, the team's top scorer, did not get into the starting 11, scoring 13 goals and six assists in 15 matches. In addition, due to injuries, the guests lost two representatives of the center of defense in the person of captain Willy Orban and Ibrahima Konate. Their place was taken by Dayo Yupomekano and the nominal right defender Lucas Klostermann.
Semak's tactical plan began to raise questions already in the debut. “Zenith” gave the initiative and agreed to play the second number, but due to the lack of reactive flank midfielders, he was practically deprived of the opportunity to carry out counter-attacks. All hopes were associated with long passes to Artyom Dziuba and Serdar Azmun, but they practically could not catch the ball. Because of this, the hosts were forced to fight back a lot and, as a result, break the rules, which quickly led to Erokhin's yellow card.
The Bulls felt at home. They possessed the advantage and very easily penetrated the defensive redoubts of opponents. So, in just six minutes, Leipzig struck three shots on goal, but Yussuf Poulsen and Konrad Laimer lacked accuracy. Unlike partners, Marcel Halstenberg was able to send the ball into the net, but the VAR system saved the hosts. In the video replay, it was clear that Christopher Nkunku, who assisted the German, played up with his hand.
This episode was supposed to be the last bell for “Zenith” and make him act more actively, but he bent his line. Blue-white-blue “parked the bus” at their own penalty box and continued to rely on counterattacks, which began to turn out somewhat more often. They were more actively organized by Douglas Santos, at the end of the hour of the match they almost earned a penalty. The Brazilian easily figured out his opponent and fell into the penalty area, but a violation of the rules was recorded earlier.
Toward the end of the inning, traces of nervousness began to appear more and more often in the behavior of Zenit players. This mainly concerned his leader. Dziuba repeatedly broke down both on partners who did not quickly connect to the attack, and on the judge. The reason was his tough fight with Yupomekano, who did not leave Artyom a centimeter of free space. The Frenchman repeatedly grabbed his vis-a-vis for a T-shirt, and once he completely hit him in the face. True, the referee did not notice this and did not determine the foul.
The ending of the half turned out to be eventful. Within four minutes, the teams exchanged dangerous moments with the blows of Forsberg and Azmun, but opened Diego Demme's account. The German midfielder bounced back after a failed attempt by Marcel Zabitzer from the penalty area and punched the ball into the net. It's a shame that this happened in the fifth compensated minute, because only three were added.
During the break, both coaches went to reshuffle and removed the defenders from the game. Semak released Karavaev instead of Smolnikov, and Nagelsman sent Klosterman to rest. True, the nominally central midfielder Kevin Kampl came out instead, which could well have been called to confuse the hosts. But if it became a forced replacement and did not bring guests any benefit, then the appearance on the Werner field instantly bore fruit. Just two minutes later, he participated in the “bulls” attack, which led to Zabitzer’s goal. The evil blue-white-blue genius burst into the penalty area and left no chance for the goalkeeper.
In the second half, the conflict between Dziuba and Yupomekano reached its climax. Artyom was again dissatisfied with the opponent’s behavior and entered into a skirmish with him. The players were ready to meet in hand-to-hand combat, but the partners managed to separate the brawlers. Unlike the meeting with CSKA, where the Russian mated with Ivan Oblyakov, he could not avoid the warning. Chief Arbiter Orel Greenfield punished both parties to the incident.
20 minutes before the final whistle, Semak went all-in and released Driussi on the field instead of Ivanovich. Petersburgers switched to a scheme with two central defenders and tried to seize the initiative, but the bulls did not slow down. Nevertheless, the owners created two dangerous moments, but neither Ozdoev nor Dziuba could distinguish themselves. The first was prevented by the goalkeeper, and the second by the defender, who blocked the striker from a U-turn.
Entering the field of Daler Kuzyaev did not change the situation, and the final whistle recorded the second consecutive defeat of Zenit in the confrontation with Leipzig. Wards of Semak were left with four points in the asset and five points behind the leader of the quartet.