- Artem Dzyuba (21')
- Rúben Dias (70' OG)
- Sardar Azmoun (78')
- Raúl de Tomás (85')
Zenit grind down Benfica in 3-1 home win
Zenit St Petersburg stayed on course to reach the Champions League knockout stages after strikes by Artem Dzyuba and Serdar Azmoun along with a Ruben Dias own goal helped them to a 3-1 home win over Benfica in Group G on Wednesday.
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The result put Zenit top of the standings on four points from two games, ahead of Lyon on goals scored after the French side beat RB Leipzig 2-0 away. Leipzig have three points and Benfica none.
Dzyuba fired Zenit ahead in the 22nd minute with a clinical finish from 12 metres after Benfica defenders lost possession when they tried to break out of their own half with casual one-touch passing.
Zenit dominated and doubled their lead in the 70th minute when Diaz diverted a Vyacheslav Karavaev effort into his own net with the goal being awarded after a Video Assisted Referee (VAR) check.
Iran forward Serdar Azmoun made it 3-0 with a deft finish from inside the penalty area after another darting break by the home side.
Substitute Raul de Tomas grabbed a late consolation for the visitors, who threw men forward in the dying minutes but Zenit's defence held firm.
Game Information
UEFA Champions League Standings
Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Manchester City | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | +11 | 18 |
RB Leipzig | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | +3 | 12 |
Young Boys | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -6 | 4 |
Red Star Belgrade | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | -8 | 1 |