Zenith St.Petersburg also failed to qualify for the UEFA Cup quarter-finals. The Russians in their home game won 1:0 against Udinese, but that proved insufficient to allow them to advance further.

Ukrainian international and Zenith captain Anatoliy Tymoshuk (pictured left) claimed the only goal of the match at the 34th minute after a lob from Ivica Krizanac. Tymoshuk earned 18.16 rating points in the game and now has 67.43.

Coach Dick Advocaat’s team had plenty of chances, but as always, they were let down by their poor realization. Viktor Faitzulin, Miguel Danny, and Konstantin Zyrianov all wasted chances after chances…

As a result, the Italian knocked Zenith out of the competition with a 2:1 aggregate win. The only consolation for the team from St.Petersburg could be the improvement in its players’ ratings: Zhyrianov added 15.05 rating points and now has 81.95. Portuguese Dany earned 10.55 points and now has a rating of 66.95 points.

The UEFA Cup will therefore have a new holder this year, and it definitely will be not a Russian team.