In what can only be described as absolutely nuts, Zenit Saint Petersburg defeated Belarusian side Dinamo Minsk 8-1 to win 8-5 on aggregate in its Europa League qualifying match, constituting the biggest Europa League comeback in 33 years. Dinamo Minsk had won the first leg 4-0 at its home ground, Traktor Stadium.
Latest scores:
AS Trencin 4-0 FeyenoordDinamo Minsk 4-0 Zenit St Petersburg
The UEFA Europa League is at it again. pic.twitter.com/bBT7XWqnxU
— bet365 (@bet365) August 9, 2018
Zenit had a mountain to climb in the second leg but took the lead in the 22nd minute thanks to Leandro Paredes.
Christian Noboa made it 2-0 to the home side in the 66th minute, but Zenit needed to find two goals in the next 20 minutes. Things were made even more difficult when Paredes was sent off in the 72nd minute.
— Bleacher Report Live (@brlive) August 16, 2018
Down to 10-men and needing a hero to step up, there could only be one man: Artem Dzyuba. Remember the lanky guy up front for Russia at the World Cup? Yeah, that guy.
Dzyuba scored two goals in three minutes to make it 4-0 in the second leg and 4-4 on aggregate. The game was sent to extra time, and Zenit decided to really turn the screw against the Belarusian side.
But first, there was an almighty scare for the home side when Dinamo's Seidu Yahay made the score 4-1 in the 99th minute, putting Dinamo Minsk ahead 5-4 on aggregate. The away goal meant that Zenit would need to score two more in the final 20 minutes if it wanted to continue its journey to the Europa League.
And continue the journey Zenit shall. Sebastian Driussi pegged one back for Zenit in the 109th minute, then Dzyuba grabbed his hat-trick as he cooly slotted away a penalty in the 115th minute to make the score 6-1 and 6-5 on aggregate.
For good measure, Zenit decided to score two more goals, with Robert Mak converting a penalty in the 121st minute and bagging another in the 123rd. Maksim Shvyatsow was sent off for Dinamo Minsk in the 121st minute, presumably because he couldn’t grasp the destruction he was witnessing on the field.
Goals scored...
- Zenit: 8 in the last 120 minutes- Morata: 7 in 10 months #EuropaLeague pic.twitter.com/zXQSnTZffg
— The Sportsman (@TheSportsman) August 16, 2018
Zenit won the second leg 8-1 and 8-5 on aggregate. Now that, ladies and gents, is how you make a comeback!
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