apoel fc coach ivan jovanovič says the cypriot underdogs must prove they are at the level of their group g rivals, starting against fc zenit st petersburg on tuesday.
apoel fc coach ivan jovanovič has warned his players against entertaining thoughts of qualification from group g, stressing that two years after their group stage debut they must once again prove they belong on the uefa champions league stage through their performances. whatever jovanovič's words, visiting fc zenit st petersburg coach luciano spalletti expects a tough test for his team.
apoel coach ivan jovanovič: "the feeling we have going into this game is the same as before any big match. two years ago our first group game was our debut at this stage of the competition. this year we have a better idea of what lies ahead and i can say we will go into this match with more belief and confidence. we will try to perform as we always do – we will try to play good football and show we are deservedly at this level. but just because we have one champions league group stage campaign under our belt doesn't mean we should believe we are up to the level of porto, shakhtar and zenit and go about setting targets of qualification like the other three teams. we need to prove through our performances that we can give ourselves the target of qualifying from the group."
zenit coach luciano spalletti: "apoel have some very good portuguese players. technically, they are very good on the ball and they have strong support here in nicosia so we will need to produce a strong performance. i believe that the team that wants the win more will be celebrating at the end, and i expect an open game. i know about apoel, and my players and i know what to expect. we have a job to do and we need to do it well. the champions league did not come gift-wrapped for us. we had to work to get here. my players now have to show their strength. we have experience from previous european competitions and we must avoid the mistakes of the past."
a goal down, manduca and aílton struck in quick succession in the second half as the cypriot club gained their first group stage victory.
two goals in as many second half-minutes earned apoel fc their maiden uefa champions league victory as the cypriot side came from a goal down to defeat fc zenit st petersburg.
the group g points seemed destined for the visitors when konstantin zyryanov broke the deadlock on 63 minutes with zenit's first shot on target. however, the game turned on its head a short while later, the brazilian pairing of manduca and aílton scoring in quick succession for ivan jovanovič's side, who are competing at this level for only the second time.
the vocal home supporters unveiled a mural paying tribute to christos kontis, the apoel player forced to retire after suffering a heart attack last month, before kick-off. if the defender's sprits were raised by that gesture, he will have been similarly encouraged not only by his former team's comeback but also their start as apoel knocked the ball about confidently early on.
that did not result in an opening until the midway point of the first period, though, when aílton, slipped in by manduca, was foiled by vyacheslav malafeev. danny was central to the russian league leaders' best effort of the half a minute before the break. dribbling in from the left, the playmaker delayed his pass until roman shirokov had broken into the area, from where the midfielder dragged a shot wide of dionisios chiotis's right-hand post.
if chances were slow to arise before the break, the same could not be said after the restart as apoel were quickly out of the blocks. malafeev needed to be at his sharpest to keep out ivan tričkovski's effort following a give-and-go with the lively aílton.
the opener arrived out of nowhere just after the hour, with danny the instigator. breaking from midfield, the portuguese international pierced the apoel defence with a pass which zyryanov tucked inside the near post. the lead did not last, however, though it owed much to good fortune, tričkovski breaking down the right and teeing up hélio pinto, whose scuffed effort fell perfectly for manduca.
from a goal down apoel were ahead moments later when aílton found himself all alone down the zenit right, advanced into the area and placed a shot across malafeev. a miserable three-minute spell for the visitors was completed when bruno alves was dismissed for a challenge on the match-winner. zenit knew it was not going to be their night when substitute viktor fayzulin hit the inside of a post and aleksandr bukharov flashed a shot narrowly wide with time ebbing away.
1. fc porto...1...1...0...0...2...1...1...3 2. apoel fc...1...1...0...0...2...1...1...3 3. fc shakhtar donetsk...1...0...0...1...1...2...-1...0 4. fc zenit st petersburg...1...0...0...1...1...2...-1...0
zenit: vyacheslav malafeev (gk), aleksandr anyukov (c), bruno alves, domenico criscito, nicolas lombaerts, danny, aleksandr kerzhakov, tomáš hubočan (dk. 89 aleksandr bukharov), roman shirokov (dk. 75 viktor fayzulin), konstantin zyryanov (dk. 80 danko lazović), igor denisov
yedekler: yuri zhevnov (gk), alessandro rosina, szabolcs huszti, aleksandar luković
