- Date:16 Dec 2010
- Kick-off:20:05
- Venue:Spyros Louis Stadium
- Bukharov (43) Rosina (66)
Denisov (87)
Live Commentary
The final whistle goes and the game is over.
- 91mins
Nicolas Lombaerts challenges Ismael Blanco unfairly and gives away a free kick. Free kick crossed left-footed by Ignacio Scocco from right wing.
- 90mins
Alessandro Rosina takes a shot. Diego Sebastian Saja makes a save.
- 88mins
Short corner taken by Alessandro Rosina, The ball is sent over by Igor Denisov.
- 87mins
Igor Denisov scores a goal from the edge of the penalty area to the bottom left corner of the goal. AEK Athens 0-3 Zenit St Petersburg.
- 86mins
Outswinging corner taken left-footed by Alessandro Rosina from the left by-line, Aleksei Ionov takes has a header from just inside the penalty box which clears the crossbar.
- 85mins
Corner taken right-footed by Igor Denisov, Sanel Jahic manages to make a clearance.
- 85mins
Igor Denisov produces a right-footed shot from the edge of the area and misses to the left of the target.
- 81mins
Maksim Kanunnikov replaces Alexander Bukharov. Outswinging corner taken right-footed by Ignacio Scocco from the right by-line, Ismael Blanco takes a shot. Save by Viacheslav Malafeev.
- 79mins
Pereira Leonardo joins the action as a substitute, replacing Grigoris Makos.
- 73mins
Danko Lazovic goes off and Szabolcs Huszti comes on.
- 77mins
Aleksei Ionov comes on in place of Konstatin Zyryanov.
- 75mins
Alexander Bukharov is caught offside. Nathan Burns restarts play with the free kick.
- 73mins
Szabolcs Huszti comes on in place of Danko Lazovic.
- 73mins
Traianos Dellas leaves the field to be replaced by Papa Bouba Diop.
- 72mins
Shot from just outside the area by Alessandro Rosina goes over the bar.
- 71mins
Booking for Grigoris Makos for dissent.
- 68mins
Outswinging corner taken by Ignacio Scocco, save by Viacheslav Malafeev.
- 66mins
Goal scored by Alessandro Rosina from just inside the penalty area to the top left corner of the goal. AEK Athens 0-2 Zenit St Petersburg.
- 65mins
Roman Shirokov takes a shot. Save made by Diego Sebastian Saja.
- 63mins
Corner taken by Ignacio Scocco from the left by-line, save by Viacheslav Malafeev.
- 63mins
Corner taken by Ignacio Scocco from the left by-line played to the near post, clearance made by Eduardo Bruno Alves.
- 59mins
Corner taken by Ignacio Scocco from the right by-line to the near post.
- 58mins
Tomas Hubocan concedes a free kick for a foul on Ignacio Scocco. Ignacio Scocco fires a strike on goal direct from the free kick, save by Viacheslav Malafeev.
- 57mins
Unfair challenge on Konstatin Zyryanov by Kostas Manolas results in a free kick. Free kick crossed by Danko Lazovic.
- 56mins
Free kick awarded for a foul by Nathan Burns on Aleksandar Lukovic. Viacheslav Malafeev takes the free kick.
- 56mins
Inswinging corner taken by Alexander Bukharov.
- 55mins
Danko Lazovic takes a shot. Save by Diego Sebastian Saja.
- 54mins
Alexander Bukharov takes a shot. Diego Sebastian Saja makes a save.
- 54mins
Ignacio Scocco takes the chance to get an effort at goal. Save made by Viacheslav Malafeev.
- 53mins
Savvas Gentsoglou goes off and Nathan Burns comes on.
- 52mins
Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Nikos Liberopoulos by Tomas Hubocan. Free kick crossed right-footed by Ignacio Scocco from left wing, save made by Viacheslav Malafeev.
- 50mins
Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Nikos Liberopoulos by Eduardo Bruno Alves. Nikos Liberopoulos takes the direct free kick.
- 49mins
Outswinging corner taken right-footed by Ignacio Scocco from the right by-line.
- 48mins
Igor Denisov concedes a free kick for a foul on Ignacio Scocco. Direct effort from the free kick comes in from Ignacio Scocco.
- 45mins
Outswinging corner taken from the right by-line by Ignacio Scocco.
The referee blows his whistle to start the second half.
The match has reached half-time.
- 44mins
Inswinging corner taken by Danko Lazovic, save by Diego Sebastian Saja.
- 43mins
Alexander Bukharov scores a goal from just outside the penalty area to the bottom right corner of the goal. AEK Athens 0-1 Zenit St Petersburg.
- 38mins
Ignacio Scocco fouled by Aleksandar Lukovic, the ref awards a Penalty. Caution for Aleksandar Lukovic. Penalty missed over the bar by Ismael Blanco.
- 38mins
The ball is swung over by Ignacio Scocco, Viacheslav Malafeev makes a save.
- 36mins
Free kick awarded for a foul by Kostas Manolas on Danko Lazovic. Kostas Manolas shown a yellow card. Danko Lazovic restarts play with the free kick.
- 35mins
Effort on goal by Ignacio Scocco from outside the area goes harmlessly over the bar.
- 33mins
Nikos Liberopoulos fouled by Eduardo Bruno Alves, the ref awards a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Traianos Dellas.
- 31mins
Inswinging corner taken right-footed by Ignacio Scocco played to the near post, clearance made by Tomas Hubocan.
- 28mins
Ignacio Scocco is flagged offside by the assistant referee. Free kick taken by Viacheslav Malafeev.
- 27mins
Outswinging corner taken from the right by-line by Ignacio Scocco.
- 26mins
Inswinging corner taken right-footed by Ignacio Scocco from the left by-line, save made by Viacheslav Malafeev.
- 24mins
Nikos Karabelas challenges Alessandro Rosina unfairly and gives away a free kick. Viacheslav Malafeev restarts play with the free kick.
- 23mins
Kostas Manolas fouled by Alexander Bukharov, the ref awards a free kick. Kostas Manolas takes the free kick.
- 22mins
Free kick awarded for a foul by Nikos Karabelas on Alessandro Rosina. Alessandro Rosina takes the direct free kick.
- 16mins
Corner taken by Ignacio Scocco from the left by-line, clearance by Eduardo Bruno Alves.
- 14mins
Ignacio Scocco takes a shot. Save by Viacheslav Malafeev. Corner taken left-footed by Sanel Jahic.
- 14mins
Ignacio Scocco is ruled offside. Free kick taken by Eduardo Bruno Alves.
- 11mins
Sanel Jahic gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Danko Lazovic. Danko Lazovic takes the free kick.
- 10mins
Foul by Sanel Jahic on Danko Lazovic, free kick awarded. Free kick taken by Danko Lazovic.
- 7mins
Unfair challenge on Nikos Liberopoulos by Igor Denisov results in a free kick. Ignacio Scocco crosses the ball from the free kick right-footed from left wing.
The ref blows the whistle to begin the match.
Match Preview
AEK playing for point AEK Athens know a point will be enough to secure their place in the last 32 of the Europa League when they take on Zenit St Petersburg. Zenit have walked away with Group G courtesy of five wins from five matches, scoring 15 goals and conceding six. But second spot in the group, and with it a place in the knockout phase of the competition, is still up for grabs going into the last game on Thursday. AEK are currently in pole position with seven points from five games, with Anderlecht three points adrift in third. However, Anderlecht have a better head-to-head record against AEK and could therefore still pip them to second courtesy of a win at home to Hajduk Split and a defeat for AEK. Zenit defender Nicolas Lombaerts admits a defeat in Athens would not overly concern the Russian champions, but warned AEK and Anderlecht that they would only have themselves to blame for not qualifying. "If we do not win, is that for us the end of the world?" Lombaerts said. "No one should be angry or say that Zenit has not done their best. "If Anderlecht do not qualify from this group, they must above all look at themselves. That we are now the executioner in this group is mainly due to lower results from our opponents." Meanwhile, Zenit goalkeeper Yury Zhevnov has been named the best player from Belarus in 2010. "That's important and really nice," Zhevnov said. "That means I didn't work so hard for nothing. I did a lot of work this season. "The lion's share of this award probably came thanks to my good play for the Belarus national team. Our whole national team played well this year. "I didn't do so well in my club team, unfortunately, but I think that practising in Zenit helped me to play well for the national team, and, as a result, led people to vote for me for this award."
AEK Athens
Zenit St Petersburg
- Diego Sebastian Saja
- Sanel Jahic
- Kostas Manolas
- Traianos Dellas
- Nikos Karabelas
- Savvas Gentsoglou
- Pantelis Kafes
- Grigoris Makos
- Ismael Blanco
- Nikos Liberopoulos
- Ignacio Scocco
- SUBS
- Giannis Arampatzis
- Cristian Nasuti
- Pereira Leonardo
- Anestis Argyriou
- Panagiotis Lagos
- Papa Bouba Diop
- Nathan Burns
Home
Away
- Viacheslav Malafeev
- Aleksandar Lukovic
- Eduardo Bruno Alves
- Nicolas Lombaerts
- Tomas Hubocan
- Roman Shirokov
- Igor Denisov
- Konstatin Zyryanov
- Alessandro Rosina
- Alexander Bukharov
- Danko Lazovic
- SUBS
- Yuri Zhevnov
- Freitas Fernando Meira
- Viktor Faitzulin
- Szabolcs Huszti
- Sergei Semak
- Aleksei Ionov
- Maksim Kanunnikov
Match Report
AEK Athens crash out AEK Athens suffered a heart-breaking exit from the Europa League after they were beaten at home by already-qualified Zenit St Petersburg. The Greek side began the day in the box seat to progress to the last-32 as they sat three points clear of Anderlecht in Group G. But defeat, plus the Belgians' 3-0 win over Hajduk Split, eliminated AEK due to their inferior head-to-head record. The loss was made even harder to stomach after Ismael Blanco missed a penalty to put AEK ahead, before goals from Alexander Bukharov, Alessandro Rosina and Igor Denisov ensured Zenit's perfect record in the group. AEK had looked the more likely side to score in the opening period with striker Ignacio Scocco proving a menace. The Argentinian forced the first save of the match after 15 minutes when his 30-yard effort was tipped over by Viacheslav Malafeev. Scocco blasted another long-range effort over before he won his side's 39th-minute penalty by inducing Aleksandar Lukovic into a mis-timed challenge. Blanco spurned the chance to fire his side ahead, however, as his side-footed shot sailed over the crossbar. It proved a costly miss as Zenit went ahead five minutes later. Bukharov found enough room to let fly from just outside the area with a left-footed shot that beat Sebastian Saja low to his right. It stayed that way into the break and with Anderlecht 2-0 ahead in their home tie with Hajduk, AEK knew they needed to earn a point to progress. Scocco continued as their main threat after the break, firing a free-kick into the wall before forcing another save from Malafeev. The Argentinian was, however, playing a lone hand and Zenit started to exert pressure of their own with Bukharov forcing a sharp save before Saja kept out an close-range effort from Danko Lazovic with his feet. AEK's hopes were then dealt a terminal blow in the 67th minute when Rosina scored Zenit's second with a shot from the edge of the area that flew into the top-left corner. Rosina could have had a third soon after when he thrashed a shot over before Blanco's miserable night continued when his header was tipped wide by Malafeev. It was not to be AEK's night and Denisov sealed a one-sided scoreline when he drilled in a left-footed shot from just outside the area with three minutes remaining.
advertisement
