Zenit start year off right with 2-1 victory over Stuttgart

Zenit Saint Petersburg started the year off right with a 2-1 defeat of VfB Stuttgart at Petrovsky Stadium. With new men Igor Semshov and Szabolcs Huszti in Dick Advocaat's starting eleven, the defending UEFA Cup champions got out to fast start in cold wintry match. Only two minutes after the opening whistle Russian capped Igor Semshov volley was pushed aside by Jens Lehmann but Szabolcs Huszti, who recently jointed from Hannover 96, slotted the rebounded home from inside the six yard box. Thirteen minutes later the match was level after Mario Gómez took advantage of Roman Shirokov's giveaway before driving the ball to the inside post of Vyacheslav Malafeev from the edge of the area. For the balance of the half, Zenit was the aggressor and both sides did well in adjusting to very difficult playing conditions. Ukraine international Anatoliy Tymoschuk, now officially bound for Bayern München, returned the lead to Zenit as he snapped in Aleksandr Anyukov's provision from just outside the area as added-time was winding down. Following the break, the match had more of a defensive tone and it was obvious how the clubs were having trouble getting restarted in the "brisk" Russian winter. After failing to increase the margin, heroics were reserved for Vyacheslav Malafeev who shut down Mario Gómez from point blank range with only two minutes remaining and the match concluded with a 2-1 victory for Zenit.

The second half of the tie is played next Thursday in Stuttgart.