1. club atlético de madrid...3...3...0...0...8...2...6...9 2. fc zenit...3...1...1...1...2...3...-1...4 3. fc porto...3...1...0...2...2...3...-1...3 4. fk austria wien...3...0...1...2...0...4...-4...1
late kerzhakov goal gives zenit points at porto published: tuesday 22 october 2013, 23.04cet
fc porto 0-1 fc zenit
reduced to ten men by hector herrera's early red card, porto were finally undone by substitute aleksandr kerzhakov's 86th-minute header.
by andy brassell from estádio do dragão
fc zenit became the first russian side to win at fc porto as the premier league champions overcame their portuguese counterparts thanks to aleksandr kerzhakov's late goal.
porto were a player short for most of the match after hector herrera's early red card and looked as if they might hold out for a point, but substitute kerzhakov's header four minutes from time meant luciano spalletti's team moved above their hosts in group g ahead of the reverse fixture in a fortnight.
in a lively start, the game turned on one end-to-end movement. hulk, back at the club he left for zenit in 2012, broke powerfully after a porto corner was cleared and was brought down deep in home territory by herrera, who was booked for the foul. the mexico midfielder then received a second caution for encroachment from the resulting free-kick, being dismissed six minutes into his uefa champions league debut.
led by hulk, zenit threatened to take control of proceedings, the brazil forward flashing a typical left-foot shot across the face of helton's goal, but porto quickly showed they were not ready to lie down. josué curled in a dipping effort from a free-kick that brushed the top of the net, before lucho gonzález hit a beautiful drive from just outside the penalty area that crashed back off yuri lodygin's left-hand post.
while porto continued to carry much of the attacking threat, zenit played patiently and sporadically carved out chances. danny found space on the edge of the box from andrey arshavin's pass but scooped over the top, before roman shirokov's clever strike curved narrowly wide with helton beaten.
paulo fonseca's side began the second period in upbeat form and the coach continued to be positive as torrential rain drove down, sending on silvestre varela for licá. the portuguese international winger almost made an immediate impact, dribbling inside past a series of challenges before raking a shot wide.
hulk then had the best opportunity of the contest so far, in the 57th minute. nicolás otamendi's slip let in the attacker for a clear run on goal, but helton dived and blocked superbly at the feet of his former team-mate to divert the ball for a corner.
it seemed as if zenit might grind the ten men down as time started to run out, hulk stinging helton's hands with a fizzing free-kick as he sought to make the breakthrough. porto almost struck against the run of play as varela's rasping drive rapped the crossbar, but instead kerzhakov nodded in hulk's teasing cross to send the sizeable away contingent into raptures.
porto'nun henüz 6. dakikada 10 kişi kaldığı maçta zenit st petersburg rakibini tek golle mağlup etti.
şampiyonlar ligi g grubu'nda porto'ya konuk olan zenit st petersburg, rakibine zor da olsa 1-0'lık skorla mağlup etti ve gruptaki ilk galibiyetini aldı.
karşılaşmanın 6. dakikasında ikinci sarı kartını görerek porto'yu 10 kişi bırakan hector herrera, şampiyonlar ligi tarihinin çifte sarı karttan en hızlı atılan ikinci oyuncusu oldu.
maçın ilk yarısında erken gelen kırmızı karta rağmen tempo oldukça yüksekti. herrera'nın atılmasının ardından porto rakip kalede baskıyı kurmayı başarsa da aradığı golü bir türlü bulamadı. ev sahibi ekip 20'de lica, 41'de de mangala ile yakaldığı net fırsatlardan yararlanamadı ve ilk 45 dakika golsüz eşitlikle sona erdi.
karşılaşmanın ikinci yarısında da genel görüntü pek değişmezken, porto'da varela'nın 79. dakikada atmış olduğu nefis şutta top kale direğinden geri geldi.
85. dakikada sahneye çıkan deneyimli golcü kerzhakov, zenit'e galibiyeti getiren golü attı. hulk'un soldan ortasında kale önünde kafa vuruşunu yapan rus oyuncu, 90 dakikanın sonucunu ilân etti: 1-0.
zenit bu galibiyetle gruptaki ilk galibiyetini alarak puanını 4'e çıkarırken, porto ise 3 puanda kaldı.
