FC Twente has barely qualified for the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
After the 3-0 win over Zenit in Enschede, they could just afford a 2-0 defeat in Russia.
FC Twente coach Michel Preud'homme was not yet confident about a good outcome after the big win in Enschede and that fear turned out to be well-founded. The first chance was for the visitors via Nacer Chadli, but then Zenit was lord and master of their own brown-green swamp mat for a long time.
After just over half an hour the difference had already been reduced to one goal. First Roman Shirokov hit the post and the rebound and moments later Aleksandr Kerzjakov fired home to make it 2-0.
Visitors get away well after rest
Right after half-time, Zenit thought twice that it would be allowed to make it 3-0 from the penalty spot. Bart Buysse's foul was a clean penalty and Denny Landzaat also got away well when he got the ball in the arm.
The Russians seemed upset by these setbacks and lost the initiative to Twente. Within a few minutes, Luuk de Jong, Oguchi Onyewu and Chadli could have decided the game.
In the final quarter, Zenit attacked again, but the good football had been thrown overboard for some time and well-played opportunities did not materialize.
Nevertheless, Nikolay Mikhailov still had to take action a number of times. However, the Bulgarian did so with verve.
"This is a fantastic performance by my team," said coach Michel Preud'homme.
The Belgian coach thought that his team was making things unnecessarily difficult for themselves. At halftime it was already 2-0. "We should have been much sharper when we lost the ball and much calmer in possession of the ball. There was enough space," he said. "If you get three big chances, at least one of them has to be taken. If you don't score, there remains hope for the opponent."
Preud'homme hopes that Twente can also perform in the next round. "You never know. The team has grown. This is a nice reward for the club."
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