Mordovya visited Petrovsky stadium for the 11th day of the Russian Premier League with hopes of leaving with a positive result from St. Peterburg as Zenit wanted to put behind recent games (three draws and one loss).
First half chances from both teams were very few with Kerzhakov losing the biggest one at the 35′ minute as his shot at an empty goalpost went wide over. Smolnikov’s early substitution (Anyukov in) due to injury also made Villas Boas change his plans while Zenit had trouble breaking Mordovya’s solid defence.
Portuguese coach’s talk during half time’s break had instant results as Zenit unleashed their fire-power with 4 goals in twenty minutes!
It all started with Hulk opening the score at the 49′ and Kerzhakov beautifully bicycle-kicking one into the net six minutes later. Unlucky Nakhusev’s own goal tripled Zenit’s goals as Axel Witsel brought the second highlight goal of the game with his back heel shot at the 66′ minute. Danny concluded the triumph three minutes later, putting the Blue-White-Sky blues back on winning and with a 4-point lead and great confidence for next week’s derby in Moscow against CSKA.
