Zenit St. Petersburg's advancement to the Champions League Group of 16 was anything but graceful after barely surviving the group stage. St. Petersburg became the first team in history to advance with just six points.
Zenit, after losing to Austria Wien 4-1, needed help from Atletico de Madrid to advance. Porto, in third place with five points, could have leapfrogged past Zenit and advanced instead. Atletico defeated Porto 2-0, thereby preserving Zenit's one point lead.
As runner-up of Group G, Zenit will draw its next opponent on Monday. Right now, none of the seven options are appealing.
The possible adversaries? Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid. St. Petersburg will be considered the underdog against each team.
Zenit can't play Atletico because both teams advanced from the same group.
The Mirror's Miguel Delaney posted his Champions League power rankings, listing Zenit No. 16. The Bleacher Report's Karl Matchett ranks Zenit one spot higher at No. 15, ahead of Olympiacos. However, Matchett and The Mirror agree Zenit is unlikely to advance.
An inability to capitalize on scoring opportunities has plagued Zenit for the past two months, justifying its rankings. Zenit's inability to finish games jeopardizes its chances of repeating its 2008 magic when it won the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Super Cup.
In the earlier stages of the Champions League, Zenit easily overwhelmed Nordsjaelland and Pacos Ferreira.
Since entering the Group stage, Zenit has managed just one win, 1-0 over Porto. Although Zenit lost to Atletico 3-1 its first game, St. Petersburg fought Atletico to a draw in the rematch, proving it could compete with the best.
Then everything changed, starting with a 2-1 to seventh place Amkar Perm on November 2.
After starting slow in the Russian Premier League, Zenit surged into first place. But in the past five matches, Zenit has gone 1-2-2, letting Lokomotiv Moscow creep into a tie for first place. Spartak Moscow sits in third place with one point behind.
Zenit's slump bled into its upcoming game against Austria, who had yet to win a match in the group stage.
St. Petersburg held a 1-0 lead, controlling the ball most of the first half, but collapsed in the second. Zenit allowed Austria's Philipp Hosiner and Tomas Jun to score one goal each in an eight-minute span, and Austria never looked back.
Even Austria's coach Nena Bjelica was surprised by how flat and uninspired Zenit played.
"We deserved this victory though the scoreline is a bit flattering," Bjelica said. "Zenit didn't play at their best but we did well to punish them."
According to Delaney's rankings, Zenit's best chance of advancing would be to draw PSG. However, Matchett's rankings suggest Chelsea, who won its group with 12 points.
In the end, Zenit faces an uphill battle no matter which team it draws. In fact, every group winner, even Atletico, hopes to play Zenit, believing Zenit will be an easy victory. If Zenit somehow advances, it will mark the largest upset of this year's Champions League.
However, considering its recent string of luck, Zenit will probably draw Manchester United or Real Madrid.
No comments:
Post a Comment