Champions League Roundup: Borussia Dormund-Zenit St. Petersburg
In a match that took some serious twists and turns before ending up the way it had begun, Borussia Dortmund of the Bundesliga triumphed over Zenit St. Petersburg of the Russian Football Premier League 4-2. Dortmund blitzed the Russian side in the opening five minutes of the match by scoring two quick goals courtesy of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Marco Reus. Both goals were the end result of a simple Dortmund attacking move that Zenit were somehow not prepared for. This was not the start Zenit was looking to have at home. The match settled for the remainder of the first half with Dortmund enjoying the momentum and continuing their attacking ways. Zenit keeper Juri Lodigin was forced in to a number of saves but none that really troubled the Russian keeper.
The second half was a much feistier affair as both sides made their attacking intentions clear. Oleg Shatov of Zenit scored his side’s opener after a bit of pinball in the box but the initial play should have been whistled dead as Jose Rondon was offside by half a yard. Less than five minutes later, Dortmund striker and future member of Bayern Munich Robert Lewandowski scored the third for BVB. In an another action packed five minute period, Lukasz Piszczek fouled Zeni’s Viktor Faizulin in the box to concede a penalty. Brazilian forward Hulk stepped forward to convert the penalty and Zenit was pulled back in to the match once again. They say that sides are most vulnerable to a goal after they score and that is precisely what happened to poor old Zenit. Two minutes after Hulk smashed in his penalty, Lewandowski slotted in to the bottom corner past Lodigin to restore the two goal lead.
Dortmund started the day, or at least five minutes in to it, with a two goal lead and thanks to some smart finishing and poor defending they were able to close out the match the same way. The German side has been struck with a severe rash of injuries this season and have just begun to bounce back and they showed it today. They now go in to the second leg with a comfortable advantage and the knowledge that they can score early and often against Zenit.
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