Despite a woeful result in the first leg game against FC Twente Zenit St. Petersburg head coach Luciano Spalletti is confident his team will go through to the next Europa League round.
Last week the Russian reigning champions were destroyed in Enschede 3-0 in a very controversial game. Having an advantage during the most part of the match they could score Twente several times, but failed to net any and conceded three goals in return.
“We were very disappointed after the game,” said Spalletti, when asked about Zenit’s prospects in the Europa League after Sunday’s Premier League game against Terek.
“We didn’t deserve the defeat given the game’s development,” he said, adding: “Honestly, Zenit should have won. I know it sounds a bit ludicrous after such a result, but I’m still convinced we’ll be able to go through to the next round.”
The return leg will be held on Thursday at the Petrovsky stadium in St. Petersburg.