Petersburg “Zenith” lost to the Roman “Lazio” in the fourth round of the group stage of the Champions League with a score of 3: 1. The Italians managed to distinguish themselves already in the 3rd minute of the meeting. Ciro Immobile hit from outside the penalty area, the ball hit the top nine of Mikhail Kerzhakov’s goal.
Already in the 22nd minute of the meeting, the Romans strengthened their advantage through the efforts of Marco Parolo, who sent the sphere tightly against the bar.
When it seemed that the defeat was inevitable, the Petersburgers managed to win back one goal. On the 25th minute of the game, the forward of the blue-white-blue Artem Dzyuba took the ball in the penalty area, turned around and shot irresistibly from the left.
However, all further efforts of Zenit to level the score were in vain. At the very beginning of the second half, St. Petersburg midfielder Vilmar Barrios fouled in his own penalty area and thus sentenced the team.
The referee of the meeting Michael Oliver awarded a penalty, which was easily taken by the aforementioned Immobile. This time the forward struck powerfully into the left corner. Kerzhakov did not guess the direction of the strike.
After this defeat, Zenit, which scored only one point after four matches in the Champions League, had no chance to make it to the playoffs of the prestigious European tournament.
Now Sergei Semak’s charges should focus on taking third place in the quartet, which allows them to play in the Europa League playoffs.