Dzyuba and Azmoun stage Zenit comeback win over CSKA, and beat Leningradets

Zenit St. Petersburg came back from 2-0 down to beat CSKA Moscow 3-2 on the final matchday of their second training camp. A five-minute spell after the break saw Artem Dzyuba and Sardar Azmoun strikes overturn a two-goal disadvantage.

Malcom had sent Azmoun clear after 20 minutes only for the through ball to overrun. Two minutes later Kristijan Bistrovic chested down a loose header out before volleying in the opening goal.

Nikola Vlasic almost doubled the advantage shortly after but his weak shot was comfortably held by Mikhail Kerzhakov. At the other end, Malcom’s free kick was only kept out by a spectacular fingertip save from Ilya Pomazun.

Pomazun’s reactions were again to thank for maintaining CSKA’s lead six minutes before half time when Azmoun’s close-range header was clawed away. With two minutes left to the break Fedor Chalov drilled in a low second between Zenit’s backpedalling defence.

Just before the hour mark, Dzyuba swept home Aleksey Sutormin’s cutback emphatically to begin the comeback. A minute later, his carefully placed side-foot finish wrong footed Pomazun.

After 63 minutes, Azmoun completed the remarkable turnaround by holding off Vadim Karpov’s challenge, turning his marker and smashing it past Pomazun at point blank range. CSKA did strike the bar from outside the penalty area with little over 20 minutes left but couldn’t find an equaliser.

Zenit 3-2 CSKA
9 February, Benidorm, Spain
Goals: Bistrovic (22’), Chalov (42’); Dzyuba (59’, 60’), Azmoun (64’)

Zenit: Kerzhakov (Lunev 46’), Karavaev (Osorio 46’), Ivanovic, Rakitskiy, Santos, Barrios, Ozdoev, Malcom (Sutormin 46’), Driussi (Musaev 80’), Dzyuba, Azmoun
CSKA: Pomazun, Diveev, Magnusson, Karpov, Fernandes, Bistrovic, Oblyakov, Akhmetov, Vlasic, Sigurdsson, Chalov

Zenit also took on PFL outfit Leningradets on Sunday, winning comfortably 3-1. A first-half double from Emiliano Rigoni and Ilya Vorobev’s second-half goal saw off the younger St. Petersburg-based club.

The result maintained their record of scoring at least three goals in every training camp friendly match this winter. Rigoni was at the heart of Zenit’s early pressure, whipping a cross in for Shamkin to head at the keeper after just six minutes.

After half an hour Rigoni broke the deadlock in an open encounter with a calm finish. Just before half time he played a simple one-two with Oleg Shatov before slotting past the keeper to make it 2-0.

Ilya Vorobev sidefooted a third after 58 minutes before the momentum swung back towards the third-tier side. Five minutes later Danil Luchin found Aleksandr Vasyutin’s bottom corner, before a second goal was ruled out for offside on 70 minutes.

The result completes a 100% winning record in Zenit’s second training camp. They fly out to Turkey for the third third camp on Friday 14 February with a double-header against Alania Vladikavkaz and Kairat Almaty next Monday 17 February.

Zenit 3-1 Leningradets
9 February, Spain
Goals: Rigoni (30’, 43’), Vorobev (58’); Luchin (63’)

Zenit: Vasyutin, Smolnikov, Osorio (Karavaev 46’), Kaplenko, Zhirkov, Sutormin (Vorobev 46’), Musaev, Erokhin, Shatov, Shamkin, Rigoni