Zenit and Shakhtar have put on a great spectacle in their Champions League battle, which ended in a 2-2 draw in Donetsk. The Russian champions twice came from behind, leaving the hosts rooted to the bottom of Group G without a win in three games.
Luciano Spalletti’s men could have opened the score early in the game in front of a sell-out crowd, but Roman Shirokov failed to convert a penalty kick.
Shakhtar, quarter-finalists last season, soon punished them through a curling shot by Willian10 minutes into the game. Zenit equalized 20 minutes later after Shirokov turned over a new leaf and made the most of Aleksandr Bukharov’s masterly assist.
However, the Russians found themselves behind again in injury time at the end of the first half. Another Brazilian, Luiz Adriano, was left unmarked in the box and fired home.
Zenit leveled things in the 60th minute after a slip by defender Oleksandr Chyzhov gave the ball to Roman Faizulin, who put it over the keeper. he rest of the game saw both teams having chances to snatch victory.
The result, coupled with a draw between FC Porto and APOEL Nicosia in the group’s other game, left Zenit second in the group, while the surprise package from Cyprus lead the pack with five points.
In other games, Barcelona eased past Viktoria Plzen with a 2-0 victory staying level at the top of Group H with AC Milan, who beat BATE Borisov.
In Group E Chelsea overwhelmed Belgian side Genk with a 5-0 win, while Bayer Leverkusen beat Valencia 2-1.
Arsenal grabbed all three points away at Marseille, toppling the French side from the top of Group F. In the group’s other battle Olympiakos prevailed over German champions Borussia Dortmund 3-1.