AC Milan snatch all three points from St Pete

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Published time: October 03, 2012 18:50
Edited time: October 04, 2012 14:29

Zenit St Petersburg couldn’t break an unlucky streak for Russian clubs in the Champions League, losing to AC Milan in a thriller at the Pertovsky stadium.

Luciano Spaletti’s charges were stunned early int the game as they found themselves trailing 2-0 after just a quarter of an hour. Urby Emanuelson made use of a deflection off a set piece to open the score and Stephan El Shaarawy doubled his team’s lead in the next attack.

The poor beginning awoke Zenit as they managed to change the run of play later on and took full control of the game. The Milan side should thank their captain Cristian Abiatti, who a clean sheet until the end of the first half, when Hulk finally broke the deadlock for Zenit.

And the hosts leveled things on the pitch early in the second half through Poman Shirokov, who converted Hulk’s cross from the corner.

Zenit continued to increase pressure on Milan but were made to pay for their wastage 15 minutes from time. Milan made the most of Zenit’s mistake near their box as Tomas Hubocan netted an own goal.

Spaletti tried to change things on the pitch bringing on two more forwards in the dying minutes of play, but it was to no avail.

The Russian champions have failed to find their form after losing 3-0 to Malaga in their Group C opener and have no points after two games, the same outlook facing another Russian team in the Champions League, Spartak Moscow.

The St Pete side have also been disappointing in the Russian Premier League -where they currently lie sixth.

Roman Shirokov (R) and Hulk of FC Zenit St. Petersburg during their UEFA Champions League group C football match in Saint-Petersburg on October 3, 2012. (AFP Photo / Kirill Kudryavtsev)

The result leaves Zenit bottom of Group C. Malaga are top after their 3-0 demolition of Anderlecht.

Elsewhere, Cristiano Ronaldo got his first hat-trick in the competition as Real Madrid trounced Ajax 4-1 in Amsterdam. It's his second hat-trick in a week, and warms him up nicely for the clash with Barcelona at the weekend. It also puts Real top of Group D with two wins from two.

Borussia Dortmund are next after conceding an unobvious late penalty to Manchester City to draw 1-1 in England.

Arsenal have also made it two wins from two. They got a 3-1 home victory over Olympiakos of Greece. They now top Group B after Schalke 04 and Montpellier drew 2-2.

Big-spending PSG lost at Porto 1-0 as James Rodriguez scored the only goal in the 83rd minute. The result puts the Portugeuse outfit top of Aroup A. Dynamo Kiev are tied with PSG on three points after their 2-0 win over Dynamo Zagreb.