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Why Zenit encounter could be the defining moment of the Jorge Jesus Benfica era
In nearly three years in charge at Benfica Jorge Jesus has brought swashbuckling football, pride and huge crowds back to the Estádio da Luz.
However, the home defeat by FC Porto in Friday’s clássico gave the Lisbon club’s bitter rivals from the north a three-point advantage as the title race goes into the home straight. Should the Dragons remain top until the end of the season, and barring an unlikely triumph in the Champions League, the only silverware of note Benfica would have won in Jesus’ tenure would have been the 2009/10 championship.
With presidential elections around the corner, that trophy haul may well prove too little for Benfica’s demanding public and dictate the departure of the 57 year old.
But the season is not over yet. Jesus needs one of two things to happen to save his job.
Benfica optimistic about reaching Champions League Last 8 ahead of Zenit
Nothing has been decided yet between Benfica and Zenit in the Last 16 of the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League…
Despite encountering defeat in the first leg of this UEFA Champions League Last 16 tie, Benfica somewhat have the upper hand going into Tuesday night’s clash. The Eagles managed to score two important goals in Russia. It should be noted that their narrow 3-2 loss happened in difficult conditions. Zenit’s turf is bad and weather conditions were freezing. “I think it was -14, -17, so it wasn't easy. However, we still threatened and scored two goals so the second leg is going to be completely different,” defender Luisao remarked ahead of the second leg according to UEFA.com.
Zenit vs Benfica Preview
The Eagles of Benfica, who successfully qualified from their group ahead of favourites Manchester United, will face Zenit in the cold weather of Russia on Wednesday.
Portuguese international Danny is ruled out of the match. The injury he sustained last week in training will expectedly take him out of action for the next eight months. Danny’s absence will leave a big hole in Zenit’s attack but Lazovic will be hoping to fill it. There’s more bad news for the Russians as they’ll be without Malafeev. The goalkeeper is yet to recover from a thigh injury. Criscito will also not play since he is ill.
For Benfica, Garay, Aimar and Moraes will have to play cautiously. These trio players are only one booking away from being suspended in Europe. The influence of Cesar, Cardozo, Pablo Aimar and Gaitan could favour the Eagles of Benfica over Russia’s Zenit.
A Look Ahead to the Champions League Draw on Friday
The most ‘even’ Champions League draw will be taking place on the 16th of December.
Italy is the nation with most sides in the round of 16. Germany, Spain, Russia, England and France each are represented by two sides in the competition. Cyprus, Switzerland and Portugal are each represented by one team. All these teams have made their passages through tough groups with perhaps the exception of Barcelona and AC Milan. These two sides were drawn with Plzen and Bate, two relative novices at this level, in the group stage.Nonetheless, Barca and Milan must be given credit for qualifying as the novices have risen this season. Whereas experienced competitors such as Manchester United, Villarreal, Porto and Valencia have gone out, the likes of Apoel Nicosia and FC Basel have progressed into the knockout stages.
FC Porto vs Zenit Report
Zenit St. Petersburg made it through to the knockout stages of the Champions League at FC Porto's expense after a riveting 0-0 at the Estádio do Dragão tonight.
Porto came into the match with a clear mission. Win the game and progress. Anything else would see the Russians take a place in the last 16 instead of the Portuguese champions. The hosts piled on the pressure throughout the ninety minutes, but try as they might they could not find a way through, in no small measure because of an inspired display by Zenit goalkeeper Malafeev.
The Russian national number one produced outstanding saves from Djalma, Moutinho and James Rodríguez to frustrate the Dragons.
Porto can consider themselves unlucky to have got only one point instead of three from the match, but Zenit were rewarded for a fine rearguard action.
FC Porto vs Zenit Preview
FC Porto host Zenit St. Petersburg at the Estádio do Dragão tonight with only one option open to them if they want to progress in the Champions League: victory.
After a string of poor results and performances, Porto have gone some way to getting their season back on track with two successive victories in crucial games against Shakhtar Donetsk and Braga. A third win in the row will definitively see the stock of Porto boss Vítor Pereira complete the transition from zero to hero.
However, their Russian opponents will be just as motivated. A draw will suffice for Zenit to claim their place in the draw for the round of 16, at Porto’s expense.
And the Russians come into the game full of confidence. Well rested as the domestic season enters its winter break, Zenit need look no further than the first encounter between the two teams to draw inspiration.
UEFA Europa League Last 8 Draw: Upsets, New Favourites And Much More
Live Soccer TV presents a brief look into how the Europa League has shaped up after last night's action ahead of the draw for the Quarter-finals.
Last night's Europa League action brought a lot of action and drama into the lively Europa League this season. Only eight teams are left in the competition now. Only eight teams have the opportunity to make history at the end of the season.
The draw for the quarter finals will take place tonight and bearing in mind that there will not be any seedings for this stage, some very interesting match-ups can be expected. But first, Live Soccer TV provides a brief look into some of the interesting topics regarding the Europa League this season.
British Downfall And Portuguese Success: How Did It Happen?
Last night's action saw all three British clubs being knocked out of the Europa League. Rangers, Liverpool and Manchester City failed to perform when it all mattered and as a result, it's a total wipeout for Britain's hopes of lifting the trophy.
Zenit Keeper Malafeev Loses Wife In Tragic Car Accident Ahead Of Twente Match
As if carrying almost no hope ahead of tonight’s Zenit vs Twente match was not painful enough, goalkeeper Malafeev has been hit with the news of his wife’s tragic death on Thursday.
The mother of two, Marina Malafeev, is said to have died in a car accident. News source Ria Novosti explained that the late woman – who was a music producer for Russian rock group M-16, was actually driving home with Dmitry Rybakov (M-16’s lead singer). But an unfortunate incident happened as her car hit a snow bank. The vehicle then flew about 150 metres, collided through a billboard, and smashed itself against a tree before landing on the wrong side.
The accident happened at St. Petersburg’s Primorskoye highway, according to a Zenit spokesman.
UEFA Europa League: A Look At The Last 32 And The Upcoming Last 16 Matches
As the UEFA Europa League resumes today, Live Soccer TV shares with you again a piece that was written back in late February.
You cannot look back at the UEFA Europa League’s Round of 32 matches without talking about drama, just as you cannot look forward to the Round of 16 ties without feeling the excitement. Today, following the Europa League’s Last 16 draw, Live Soccer TV takes you through an analysis of the competition’s previous stage and its upcoming round.
We look at some of the Round of 32’s best results in terms of big margin-victories and thrilling comebacks. In addition, we also analyze the Round of 16 draw from a general point of view: who the favourites are in terms of clubs and countries among a few other points.
The UEFA Europa League: The Round Of 16’s Best Comebacks
Manchester City, Zenit, Rangers and Villarreal all rank among this range. Both Man City and Villarreal were in a delicate situation as they had failed to grab at least one vital away goal in their respective Europa League knock-out match. But it turned out to be that their dream came to life through what makes the greatest difference in a game: goals.
Arsenal Transfer News: Zenit Target Arshavin Against Wenger’s Will
Arsenal’s Arshavin has been the topic of transfer news lately. Zenit St. Petersburg have also added themselves to the player’s transfer issues but Arsenal’s Wenger is not ready to let Arshavin go.
A couple of weeks ago, it was rumoured that the Russian midfielder could be heading to Juventus. However, Arshavin’s agent quickly downplayed these speculations. Recently though, English news source The Sun reported that Zenit St. Petersburg are keen to bringing Arshavin back to the place where he first was before moving to Arsenal in 2009. According to The Sun, the Russian club’s sporting director Igor Korneev declared:
“With Arshavin, it’s very simple. We’d always welcome him back to the club – whether this happens now, or in the future.”
UEFA Europa League Match-day One Preview - From Group G To Group L
We now preview match-day one of the UEFA Europa League with from Group G to Group L. Watch out for a great night of European football with accustomed Champions League contenders Liverpool and FC Porto vying for a successful campaign.
Which One Is The Most Interesting – Group H, Group I, or Group J?Group H is a section where three of the four teams drawn look potentially good enough to each shape the table its own way. You look at Getafe and Stuttgart and you are almost sure that these two sides aren’t just going to travel around Europe but fail on the pitch.
They’ll definitely make things tough as Group H favorites. Besides Getafe and Stuttgart’s threat, there is also BSC Young Boys. More luck would have seen them compete in this season’s UEFA Champions League competition at the expense of Tottenham Hotspur. Unfortunately for the Swiss, they suffered a 6-3 aggregate defeat to Spurs despite holding a 3-2 advantage ahead of the second leg in the play-off.