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Zenit St. Petersburg vs Celtic. UEFA Europa League Round of 32.

Krestovsky StadiumAttendance50,492.

Zenit St. Petersburg 3

  • B Ivanovic (7th minute)
  • D Kuzyaev (27th minute)
  • A Kokorin (61st minute)

Celtic 0

    3-1

    Zenit 3-0 Celtic (3-1 on aggregate): Branislav Ivanovic's early goal inspires turnaround in Russia

    22/02/18 UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE LAST 32
 ZENIT ST PETERSBURG v CELTIC
 ST PETERSBURG - RUSSIA 
 Celtic's Scott Brown shows his frustration
    Image: Celtic's search for an away win in the Europa League now stretches to 14 games

    Celtic's Europa League first-leg lead over Zenit was turned on its head in less than half an hour as a 3-0 defeat (3-1 on aggregate) dumped them out of the competition.

    The Hoops' slender 1-0 advantage from Parkhead was wiped out when former Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic nodded in Leandro Paredes' corner after seven minutes.

    Dorus de Vries was then unable to keep out Daler Kuzyayev's effort, whose swerving shot was palmed into the net by the Celtic goalkeeper.

    Brendan Rodgers' side were disappointing throughout and took 67 minutes to force a save from Andrei Lunev, by which time Zenit were already three goals to the good thanks to Aleksandr Kokorin's close-range finish.

    Match ratings

    Zenit: Lunev (6), Ivanovic (8), Mammana (7), Mevlja (6), Criscito (7), Paredes (7), Kranevitter (6), Kuzyayev (7), Rigoni (6), Kokorin (7), Zabolotny (6).

    Subs: Erokhin (6), Driussi (n/a), Smolnikov (n/a).

    Celtic: De Vries (5), Lustig (4), Simunovic (5), Ajer (6), Forrest (7), Kouassi (5), Brown (6), Ntcham (6), Tierney (5), McGregor (5), Dembele (6).

    Subs: Rogic (6), Sinclair (6), Musonda (5).

    Man of the match: Branislav Ivanovic.

    With a 1-0 lead to protect, Celtic's first priority was to avoid conceding early, but they were behind to the first attack of the game when Ivanovic was left unmarked to power Paredes' corner beyond De Vries.

    Only James Forrest looked intent on pushing the visitors forward before half-time, and they mustered only a solitary shot from distance before the break.

    By that point they were 2-0 behind as Kuzyayev drifted inside unchallenged and unleashed a powerful drive from 25 yards, but one which was within easy reach of De Vries and should have been kept out.

    Also See:

    Team news

    Zenit made two changes from their last game, which was the first leg at Parkhead. In came goalscorer Branislav Ivanovic, and midfielder Matias Kranevitter.

    Brendan Rodgers' seven changes from the weekend were no great surprise, as he reverted to the same side which beat Zenit a week ago.

    After the break, the visitors looked noticeably quicker into the tackle, although still nervous in possession, but were left with a mountain to climb when Zenit scored a well-worked third as Kokorin swept in Ivanovic's cross.

    Substitutes Tom Rogic and Scott Sinclair threatened from half-chances, while Eboue Kouassi fired straight at Andrey Lunyov from 25 yards, but Celtic's European campaign ended with a whimper.

    Opta stats

    • Zenit Saint Petersburg advanced from a European tie after losing the first leg for the first time since 2010/11, when they beat BSC Young Boys 4-3 on aggregate in this competition.
    • This was Celtic's heaviest defeat in the Europa League or UEFA Cup since October 1991, when they lost 5-1 away at Neuchâtel Xamax in the last 32.
    • Celtic haven't kept a clean sheet in any of their last 12 away games in the Europa League, with their last one coming back in November 2009 (0-0 at Hamburg).
    • Branislav Ivanovic has scored three goals in the Europa League this term, while no defender has netted more than him in the competition.

    Man of the match - Branislav Ivanovic

    Ivanovic scored the goal that set Zenit on their way, kept Kieran Tierney very quiet, set up Kuzyayev for Zenit's second., and made 15 accurate passes inside the visitors' half.

    What's next?

    Zenit can close the gap on Russian Premier League leaders Lokomotiv Moscow when they host Amkar Perm a week on Saturday.

    Celtic face a trip to third-placed Aberdeen on Sunday, where they will hope to increase a gap to Derek McInnes' side which already stretches to nine points.

    The draw for the last 16 of the tournament is at midday on Friday.

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