Liverpool FC Last Match - In association with Chevrolet
Europa League
2 - 0

Zenit v Liverpool


14 Feb 2013, KO: 17:00

Minute by minute

92 That's all from our live commentary this evening. Visit the Liverpoolfc.com homepage for a match report and photos, and we'll have reaction from Brendan Rodgers shortly.
92 FULL-TIME
91 Fayzulin works Reina with an accurate long-range strike, corner to Zenit.
90 Two minutes added on in Russia.
88 Time is running out for the Reds now. Zenit are closing the game out.
83 First Booking: Luis Neto:
83 ... but it's Suarez who hits it - well saved low to the left by Malafeev and Zenit scramble clear the rebound.
83 Gerrard stands over a dangerous free-kick...
82 Substitution: Viktor Fayzulin for Alexander Kerzhakov:
81 Downing wins a corner...
78 Such a clever ball with the outside of his foot from Gerrard but Allen can’t reach it before the defender. The Reds haven’t given up yet.
77 Substitution: Lucas Leiva for Raheem Sterling:
75 Given how the second half had gone to that point, you would never have predicted that quickfire one-two from Zenit but the Reds are now 2-0 down with 15 minutes left on the clock.
72 It's a double blow for the Reds, who fall two goals behind as Sergey Semak is left completely free to convert at the back post.
72 GOAL! Sergey Semak:
69 Zenit have been quiet but they lead through a moment of brilliance. Hulk collects the ball 40 yards from goal, carries it forward and thrashes an unstoppable drive into the top corner, giving Reina no chance whatsoever.
69 GOAL! Hulk:
66 Andre Wisdom may be joining the action shortly.
65 But there's nothing to celebrate as Zenit see it clear.
65 And now Suarez wins a corner on the right...
64 That said, Liverpool have snatched control of this match. They’re keeping the ball smartly, picking passes with patience and frustrating their hosts. Promising period for Brendan Rodgers’ men.
61 As I mentioned earlier, Suarez could have easily had three, four or five goals here. Seriously.
60 Fantastic counter-attack from the Reds does not get the goal it deserved. Enrique plays the ball out from the back and Gerrard plays Downing clear on the right. As the winger cuts into the middle, the ball spins perfectly for Suarez, who curls goalwards but sees his strike drift agonisingly wide.
59 First Booking: Tomas Hubocan:
57 With the pitch worsening, this is a scrappy affair at times. Neither time can maintain an extended rhythm.
55 Jordan Henderson takes a turn to find Suarez through the middle but it’s a mistimed piece of distribution by the 22-year-old.
53 Substitution: Sergey Semak for Miguel Danny:
51 Great opportunity for Gerrard to find a teammate from a free-kick on the right but the skipper can only hit the first defender.
48 That chance came after a bright start to the second period by the Russians.
48 So unlucky for Johnson! The defender picked the ball up at halfway and travelled all the way to the edge of the Zenit area but, tiring, his poke towards goal clipped Malafeev and went wide for a corner.
46 No changes for either side.
46 SECOND HALF
45 Both teams heading back out for the second period now.
45 Some selected half-time stats – Zenit have had three shots on target to Liverpool’s none and the hosts have had nine efforts at goal in total. But the Reds have had four ‘good chances’ according to UEFA figures, while Zenit have launched 29 ‘dangerous attacks’.
45 @CianDoherty8: Open first half, some players look tired, Suarez doesnt want to be rested but he should only have 15 more mins.Enrique & Stevie good.
45 Tweet me, @shawct, during the break and I’ll publish some of your opinions.
45 HALF-TIME
45 Two minutes of time added on.
45 This competition has been good to Stewart Downing this season and he has the scent of another goal, cutting in from a wide right position. High and wide.
44 Axel Witsel trains his sights from range but it’s a good block and the danger passes.
43 Again Steven Gerrard looks for Suarez but this time he’s outnumbered. Unfortunate.
41 It's no exaggeration to say that Suarez should have reached the 25-goal mark for the season already tonight.
40 I have no idea how Suarez hasn’t scored. Joe Allen gets forward and delivers from the right. His cross takes a deflection and nearly fools the goalkeeper but it falls to Sterling on the opposite side for an easy set-up to Suarez. Somehow he puts the finish wide. Head in hands moment.
38 Neto takes a chance with a short pass back to his ‘keeper and Suarez is alive to the possibility of an interception. The ball has just enough on it, however.
34 Progressive piece of play by Jose Enrique, who bombs down the left and holds off a succession of challenges. The time comes to release the ball and the Spaniard looks for Suarez, who again fails to control.
33 @MCATEER4: Good attitude an resilience from the boys. This is a proper test for them in more ways than one.
32 @carlmarkham: For a team which hasn't played competitively for 2 months @fczenit_en are looking pretty sharp. The powers of Persian Gulf sun.
30 Danny lets fly from distance… blocked.
28 Zenit actually struck the post during that scramble too. The Reds are having to dig deep at the moment.
26 Supreme defending from Jamie Carragher. Hulk switches to the right this time and drives at the Liverpool defence. The Brazilian twists and turns as he approaches the goal but the 35-year-old stood firm and won the ball cleanly. Danny then heads straight at Reina.
23 Raheem Sterling shows clever skills to control a bouncing ball and looks to play through Suarez. The forward is harshly adjudged to have fouled his marker. Seconds later, he is ruled offside in a very narrow decision as he tried to attack space behind the Zenit backline.
22 … but no luck. Skrtel is penalised for pushing as the set-piece arrives in the Zenit box.
21 Suarez is lively too, though, and wins a corner...
19 Zenit’s front three are quick and creative – they’re causing the Reds problems. Hulk works room on the left and has an age to pick out a cross but his delivery is poor on this occasion.
17 First Booking: Martin Skrtel:
16 But that’s no excuse for Suarez, who really should have given Liverpool a 1-0 lead with his second chance of the match. The No.7 burst clear of the Zenit defence and, with time to spare, tried to round the goalkeeper but his touch was far too heavy.
15 The pitch is not helping at the Petrovsky Stadium – it’s bumpy and poor quality and both teams are struggling to control possession.
12 Some beautiful defending from Johnson there. Zenit were pressing high up the pitch but the England international remained composed and spun past an onrushing forward to earn the Reds some time.
9 @TonyBarretTimes: Good game this so far and it's being played in a good atmosphere too.
6 Suarez is played through… offside. The Uruguayan wasn’t far from breaking the trap there.
5 Reina to the rescue again. Hulk is afforded far too much freedom in a central area and launches towards the Spaniard’s goal, but the ‘keeper gets down low to the left quickly to tip the effort wide of the post.
3 Within seconds, Luis Suarez senses the chance for his 23rd goal of the season, but his attempt drifts narrowly wide. So close to an away goal for the Reds.
2 From the subsequent corner, the ball falls to Roman Shirokov, who strikes straight at goal but is denied by a brilliant Pepe Reina stop.
1 Danny creates an early chance for the home side, driving at the Liverpool defence before releasing Kerzhakov to the left. The striker is forced wide by Glen Johnson and it’s a corner.
1 KICK-OFF
Pre The teams are out on the pitch now... not long until we're underway.
Pre A touching moment – the home crowd gave returning defender Martin Skrtel a loud cheer when his name was read out.
Pre Just 15 minutes until kick-off now. @philreade is the man for pictures this evening - he'll ensure you can see the best images from Russia.
Pre The cold clearly has no effect on Liverpool assistant manager Colin Pascoe – the Welshman has been out in shorts at the Petrovsky Stadium!
Pre @JBcommentator: Milan are the only team to win at the Petrovsky in Europe in the last 4 years - a tough task for Liverpool tonight.
Pre “I don't think their fitness will be too affected, but there's no doubt if you're out of competitive football, sometimes those first couple of games back in can be difficult. We can benefit from that.”
Pre “They've played in a training camp and we've been to watch those games and have them covered. Even though they were only friendly games, it was important for us to do our work, analyse the opponent and see where they're at in terms of their fitness.
Pre Brendan Rodgers was asked at his press conference on Wednesday whether that lack of action could prove a hindrance to Zenit. He said: “It's certainly something that might not be to their advantage, but they've played about five games since the season finished in December.
Pre Tonight's hosts are expected to line up in a 4-3-3 formation. This is their first competitive fixture since December 10.
Pre Subs: Zhevnov, Rodic, Lukovic, Fayzulin, Semak, Evseev, Djordjevic.
Pre The Zenit starting XI is: Malafeev, Anyukov, Lombaerts, Neto, Hubocan, Witsel, Denisov, Shirokov, Hulk, Kerzhakov, Danny.
Pre Reason for optimism: @OptaJoe 89% - Liverpool had the best pass completion of any team in the Europa League group stage this season. Purists.
Pre Subs: Jones, Coates, Lucas, Borini, Shelvey, Suso, Wisdom.
Pre Liverpool team in full: Reina, Johnson, Skrtel, Carragher, Enrique, Allen, Henderson, Gerrard, Downing, Sterling, Suarez.
Pre TEAM NEWS: Martin Skrtel starts against his former club, Zenit St Petersburg, as the Reds make three changes for their Europa League clash in Russia.
Pre Other major European teams still battling in this tournament include Ajax, Atletico Madrid, Benfica, Inter Milan, Lazio, Lyon and Napoli.
Pre Should Liverpool negotiate their way into the next stage, they will face either Dnipro of Ukraine or FC Basel of Switzerland. Three other English teams remain in the competition – Chelsea, Newcastle and Tottenham.
Pre Tonight’s match is the first leg of this last 32 clash – the second and deciding leg will take place at Anfield next Thursday, February 21 with kick-off at 8.05pm.
Pre @James_Carroll84 is our man in Russia tonight – he travelled with the team to St Petersburg on Wednesday and will be producing a match report and live updates via Twitter from a chilly Petrovsky Stadium.
Pre We’ll have team news for you at 3.45pm GMT.
Pre “As for strengths it's similar to Man City. Last season they were good as a team, but now they hope for individuals to produce brilliance. I'd call Danny (who's a bit like David Silva) their main creative force, and there's also Witsel, who was nearing his best at the end of last year, and Roman Shirokov - named the player of 2012 in the Russian Premier League by all: from managers to fans and journalists.”
Pre And Russian football expert Artur Petrosyan let us in on Zenit’s strengths and weaknesses. “Their main weakness has to be their defence,” he says. “In the centre they can be slow and prone to mistake. Plus when Zenit play without Denisov (and he might still leave the club soon) opponents easily go at them through the middle.
Pre “And although they've spent time in Dubai and Turkey in preparation for this game and the resumption of the league season, they are going into this tie as cold as the current temperature on the north-west coast of Russia.”
Pre LFC TV commentator John Bradley knows our opponents well and he told us pre-match: “Zenit haven't played a competitive game since early December.
Pre Stewart Downing is the only Liverpool player to feature in all 10 of the team’s European fixtures this season, while Jamie Carragher could make his 149th European appearance for the club tonight.
Pre These two sides have never previously crossed swords, and the Reds have a mixed record in Russia – winning twice and losing on three occasions when they have previously visited.
Pre Defender Martin Skrtel could face his former club on Thursday night – the centre-back left Zenit to join the Reds in January 2008.
Pre Liverpool topped a group containing Anzhi Makhachkala, Udinese and Young Boys to reach the knockout stages. Zenit, on the other hand, entered the competition after being eliminated from the Champions League.
Pre The match kicks off at 5pm GMT, with Brendan Rodgers selecting a full-strength 20-man squad for the clash with the Russian champions. January signings Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho are ineligible, however.
Pre Welcome to our live text commentary for the Reds’ trip east to take on Russian side Zenit St Petersburg in the Europa League last 32 – we’ll keep you up-to-date with events live from the Petrovsky Stadium.
Chevrolet - Share the power of play. Learn More.