The idea of holding a competition with teams from other countries is a great move by the Saint Petersburg club. Ordinary off-season meetings give fans little concern, especially since they are often held behind closed doors. And here the spectators were able to watch live the matches of their favorite footballers against guests from abroad. Some 35 thousand people in a friendly match is a very good indicator.
– It’s great that we compete with such strong opponents, also in our own stadium. Nice to see our fans. Emotions in such an environment are completely different, – said the goalkeeper of the “blue-white-blue” Mikhail Kerzhakov after the defeat of the Serb “Crvena Zvezda” (1:2).
As the head coach of “Zenith” Sergei Semak promised a few days before the meeting with “Fenerbahce”, all the leaders of his team went out on the field. It wasn’t that Brazilian midfielder Wendel, who is looking for a new club. The compatriots Wendel Malcolm and Claudinho, the Colombians Wilmar Barrios and Matteo Cassierra, all started from the first minutes.
As in the previous meeting with “Crvena Zvezda”, Zenit, frankly, had no luck. Before the break, the locals were able to score a couple of goals, but Cassierra and the Brazilian Gustavo Mantuan did not take advantage of their chances. In addition to the wasted chances, the Petrogradueros lost Claudinho due to injury. It is still difficult to say how much one of the team leaders, Sergei Semak, gave up. But next Saturday there will be a match for the Russian Super Cup with CSKA in Kazan.
In the second half, the picture on the field did not change much: the “blue-white-blues” had more possession of the ball, but could not get at least some benefit from it. As a result, everything was decided by a penalty shootout, in which the players of “Zenith” turned out to be more successful – 4:3.
