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Uefa Cup: Zenit deserved win
14/05/2008 22:53 - (SA)
Manchester - Zenit St Petersburg won their first European trophy in their first attempt on Wednesday, beating Rangers 2-0 in the Uefa Cup final.
Igor Denisov scored the first goal in the 72nd minute after playing a one-two with Andrei Arshavin, cutting through the Rangers defence and beating goalkeeper Neil Alexander.
Konstantin Zyryanov added the second in injury time, tapping the ball over the line off a pass from Fatih Tekke.
Denisov had escaped being penalized for a handball early in the second half in the City of Manchester Stadium.
Zenit coach Dick Advocaat, who led Rangers from 1998-2002, won his first European title with the victory.
The well-travelled Dutch coach has transformed Zenit since joining in 2006 - last season he led Zenit to their first Russian league title, meaning the club will play in the Champions League next season.
Zenit is the second Russian club to win in Europe. CSKA Moscow won the 2005 Uefa Cup title.
Rangers, who have already won one domestic trophy and are in contention for two more, won the defunct Cup Winners' Cup in 1972, beating Dynamo Moscow.
The Scottish fans filled two-thirds of the stadium and more than 100 000 more were in downtown Manchester watching on giant screens.
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Rugby
