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Zenit shoot down Bayern to reach final
By Pavel Gognidze from St Petersburg
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The Zenit players celebrate Pavel Pogrebnyak's
second goal (¿Getty Images)
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FC Zenit St. Petersburg made history by winning 4-0 against
FC Bayern Munchen in their UEFA Cup semi-final second leg and reaching
their first European final.
Emphatic victory
The Russian champions combined resolute defending with lethal finishing,
to leave Bayern wondering what exactly had hit them after a contest in
which the territorial advantage was theirs. Goals from Pavel Pogrebnyak
and Konstantin Zyrianov set Zenit on their way in the first half, before
Victor Fayzulin and Pogrebnyak then consigned Bayern to a painful defeat.
Defensive crisis
Zenit, without the suspended Andrei Arshavin, Radek Sirl and Fernando
Ricksen, as well as Nicolas Lombaerts and Kim Dong Jin through injury,
had only two available defenders - Ivica Krizanac and Aleksandr Anyukov.
These were joined at the back by Roman Shirokov, a recent convert to the
centre-half position, and 38-year-old Olexandr Gorshkov, a makeshift left-back.
Bayern recovered Lucio, rested at the weekend following his own goal in
Munich, and Luca Toni from a ban. The Italian international's inclusion
was the only change to Ottmar Hitzfeld's lineup from the 1-1 first-leg
draw.
Early goal
Bayern started brightly and created their first chance in the second minute
when Miroslav Klose connected with Toni's flick-on but Shirokov cleared
the ball off the line with Vyacheslav Malafeev beaten. Yet just 90 seconds
later the Petrovsky Stadium erupted as Pogrebnyak delivered on his pre-match
promise to take care of Zenit's scoring by blasting a 25-metre free-kick
through the wall and past Oliver Kahn.
Bayern pressure
The breakthrough was the prelude to a spell of sustained Bayern pressure.
The Bundesliga leaders controlled possession and peppered Zenit's box
with crosses. A couple of free-kicks were won in the vicinity of Malafeev's
goal, but for all their dominance, Bayern could not convert any openings
until Franck Ribery unleashed a shot which Malafeev collected at the second
attempt. Zenit's response was far more dangerous. Alejandro Dominguez
played in Anyukov on the right side of the area and his close-range strike
was saved by the legs of Kahn. The German team looked to Toni for inspiration,
and he almost provided it but headed over the bar when well-placed.
Doubling up
As ever, though, the attacks by Dick Advocaat's men, if fewer in number,
were greater in quality: on 39 minutes another well-timed pass by Dominguez
was turned into a goal by Zyrianov, who sold a dummy to Martin Demichelis
before steering the ball into the far corner as he strode into the box.
Hitzfeld's reaction was to introduce Lukas Podolski and Christian Lell
for Ze Roberto and Marcell Jansen at half-time, a move which almost paid
dividends when Podolski set up Toni to force a reflex save from Malafeev.
Bastian Schweinsteiger also tested the keeper with a strong shot.
Ruthless Zenit
Such was the script of this match that for every Bayern chance there was
a opportunity for the hosts - and Zenit converted theirs with near German
precision. This time, on 53 minutes, Anyukov delivered an inch-perfect
cross into the area which Fayzulin powered in, with his head, just under
the crossbar with Kahn stranded. Bayern were shell-shocked. Hitzfeld sent
on Jose Ernesto Sosa for the injured Klose. Lell made space for Podolski
to rifle an effort over. Schweinsteiger solicited another fine stop from
Malafeev.
Masterstroke
But still they could find no way through the calm, confident Zenit defence.
And, yet again, Zenit had the perfect riposte. Dominguez breezed past
Philipp Lahm down the right and rolled across a masterful pass for Pogrebnyak
to finish with pinpoint accuracy into the bottom corner. This left Pogrebnyak
- whose yellow card rules him out of the 14 May final in Manchester -
as the UEFA Cup's ten-goal top scorer alongside Toni.
UEFA.com,
1 May 2008
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