UCL: Late Zenit strike holds Chelsea for draw, Blues finish second in Group H

Zenit held a revamped Chelsea to a draw in their final Group H Champions League game at the Krestovsky Stadium on Wednesday. With the result the Blues finish second in the group, Juventus being the table-toppers. 

Magomed Ozdoyev executed a brilliant finish in the fourth minute of extra-time to hit his side’s third goal against the Premier League giants. The Russian midfielder fired a volley, from just inside the area, in the top-right. 

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The match seemed to have gone past Zenit’s reach when  Timo Werner hit his second goal of the night in the 85th minute. The Germany national shifted the ball onto his right foot just inside the area and shooting low into the net. He had a nervy wait while video review checked for offside, but the goal stood.

The 25-year-old had put the Blues into the lead in the second minute when he turned the ball home from close range at a corner.  The Russian opponents then turned the game around with goals from Claudinho in the 38th and Sardar Azmoun in the 41st.

Romelu Lukaku then tapped into an empty net in the 62nd following good work by Werner, who played a one-two with Ross Barkley, for his first Chelsea goal in nearly three months.

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Manager Thomas Tuchel fielded a depleted Chelsea lineup with his team guaranteed to advance, but it still included what is widely seen as the first-choice strike partnership of Werner and Romelu Lukaku, who have both recently returned to fitness after injuries. They combined to score all of the goals for Chelsea, which was trailing 2-1 heading into the final half-hour.

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Juventus started the final round of group games level on points with Chelsea and beat Malmo 1-0 in a game played at the same time. Finishing second means Chelsea will play a group winner in the last 16, most likely giving the defending champion a tougher task to advance.

Zenit had already secured a third-place finish and a spot in the Europa League knockout playoffs for the right to get into the last 16 of the second-tier competition.