A Nicolas Lombaerts header saw Zenit St Petersburg beat Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 in UEFA Champions League Group G.

Zenit beat Shakhtar 1-0 to boost Group G qualification hopes

A Nicolas Lombaerts header saw Zenit St Petersburg beat Shakhtar Donetsk in UEFA Champions League Group G. The hosts created a string of first-half chances but found visiting keeper Oleksandr Rybka in inspired form. But he could not stop Lombaerts' header from Viktor Fayzulin's corner in first half stoppage time as the Russian champions made it two wins out of two at home in Group G so far. The victory sent Zenit temporarily two points clear at the top - before rivals Apoel Nicosia returned to the summit with a 2-1 win over Porto later - while Shakhtar are still searching for their first win. It was a scrappy opening to the game with both sides having penalty appeals waved away. Zenit midfielder Danny was already pivotal for the hosts as his side began to dominate and they almost went ahead just before the half hour.

Neat interplay

Neat interplay between Danny and Igor Denisov saw the latter produce a clean strike from the edge of the area which Rybka saved with his legs before the keeper picked himself up to block from Konstantin Zyryanov's close-range follow-up. Roman Shirokov then played through Alexander Bukharov with a beautiful curled ball but his team-mate sent his shot wide. Denisov had another shot on target which was straight at the keeper before Danny hit the post from an apparently impossible angle from Shirokov's chipped ball. Danny was finding space everywhere and he dinked a ball on to Denisov's head from the left of the area which the striker directed towards the top corner but Rybka somehow clawed it away for a corner. Bukharov then got across his marker to loop a header just over and Rybka saved again from Shirokov before the hosts finally broke the deadlock at the end of the first half. Fayzulin whipped in a corner from the right which was perfect for Lombaerts, the Belgian defender meeting it in the six-yard box and heading the ball down and over the line with Rybka finally beaten.

Great numbers

In the second period, the Ukrainians were attacking in great numbers and whipping crosses into the box as the half progressed although this left them open at the back. Shirokov curled the ball wide after wriggling through in the area while Willian unleashed a shot with which home keeper Viacheslav Malafeev took no chances, tipping it over. Srna dragged a shot wide and while the visitors were enjoying greater possession than in the first half, there were few clear-cut chances from either side. Bukharov then ran on to a slide-rule ball from Danny as Zenit broke but he was off balance and shot high and wide. Substitute Eduardo almost picked out Seleznyov but the ball was just intercepted as Shakhtar desperately tried to rescue something but Zenit saw out the game to remain second in Group G, three points ahead of third placed Porto with two games to play.

Zenit St Petersburg	Team Statistics	Shakhtar Donetsk
1	Goals	0
1	1st Half Goals	0
9	Shots on Target	1
7	Shots off Target	2
3	Blocked Shots	2
3	Corners	5
16	Fouls	23
0	Offsides	1
2	Yellow Cards	3
0	Red Cards	0
79.6	Passing Success	77.5
20	Tackles	21
70	Tackles Success	81
51.9	Possession	48.1
59.4	Territorial Advantage	40.6
432	Total Passes	391
21	Total Crosses	20
157	Lost Balls	160
45	Recoveries	61