UEFA Champions League 2011, Shakhtar Donetsk Vs. Zenit St. Petersburg: Entertaining Game Ends 2-2

Shakhtar Donetsk had a lead over Zenit St. Petersburg on two separate occasions in their UEFA Champions League clash, but the visitors fought back on two occasions to earn a deserved 2-2 draw. Shakhtar now have just two points from their first three matches - including two home draws - and are in very bad shape in Group G. Meanwhile, Zenit are in the mix for a knockout stage place and will like their chances of qualifying if they can defeat Shakhtar at home in their return fixture.

Zenit was the team very much on top in the first 15 minutes, and they should have been ahead after 10. Shakhtar’s star defender Dmytro Chigrynskiy pushed down Aleksandr Bukharov in the box in the 9th minute, leading to a Shakhtar penalty, but Roman Shirokov’s effort was a weak one and Oleksandr Rybka made a simple save.

Willian made Zenit pay for squandering that opportunity shortly afterwards, scoring a sensational goal in the 15th minute. From 25 yards out on the left wing, the Brazilian took a rip towards the far post. Vyacheslav Malafeev got his fingers to the ball, but could only tip it to the inside of the post, which wasn’t enough to stop it from going into the back of the net.

Shirokov would atone for his earlier error, though, scoring a great goal in the 33rd minute from close range. Bukharov provided a brilliant assist with a curled pass into the box with the outside of his foot, doing much of the work for his teammate. However, Shakhtar snatched a goal just before the break, as Luiz Adriano finished low from 15 yards out after a scramble, just before stoppage time.

Their lead wouldn’t last, as Victor Faizulin netted the equalizer from an extremely narrow angle in the 60th minute. Rybka made a total of seven saves on the night, some of which were downright brilliant, but the Shakhtar keeper deserves a lot of the blame for giving up Faizulin’s goal, as he rushed out towards a through ball, then was caught standing still at the top of the box as Faizulin ran by him with the ball.

The teams will meet again during the next round of Champions League fixtures, where Zenit will be favored to win at home in St. Petersburg.