Zenit secured a hard-fought 2-1 comeback win over Sochi at home, with goals from Luis Henrique and Alexander Erokhin. Sochi came close to pulling off an upset, but fell short in the end.
Zenit trailed at halftime after Henrique missed a penalty. The winning goal came from Erokhin, who had played only 30 minutes all season before this match.
Despite sitting in the relegation zone, Sochi arrived highly motivated after winning four of their last five matches, keeping slim hopes of survival. Their journey to St. Petersburg was grueling—due to airport closures in southern Russia, they traveled by train and bus to Moscow, then switched to the Sapsan high-speed train, totaling 28 hours of travel.
Zenit started brightly, attacking aggressively and nearly scoring in the 12th minute. Gustavo Mantuan set up Maxim Glushenkov in the box, but his powerful volley hit the post.
Soon after, Zenit earned a penalty: Douglas Santos played a short corner with Glushenkov, who threaded the ball past Sochi forward Zakhar Fedorov, and Fedorov tripped him. Surprisingly, Henrique stepped up to take it—he had only taken one penalty in his career, two years ago in the Brazilian Serie A, which he scored.
But this time, the Brazilian missed! He aimed for the top right corner but hit the crossbar. Incidentally, this was Zenit’s 13th penalty of the season—a new club record. To match the all-time leader, Rostov’s 2022/23 season, they need two more.
In the 21st minute, another dangerous chance: Henrique crossed from the flank, Santos headed from the far post, but goalkeeper Alexander Degtev saved.
Sochi responded a few minutes later: Maxim Mukhin dispossessed Wilmar Barrios in midfield, sparking a three-on-two counterattack. Kirill Kravtsov set up Mukhin, but the midfielder didn’t connect cleanly, and Denis Adamov saved the central shot.
Then in the 31st minute, Sochi struck! Artyom Makarchuk swung a high cross into the box, and Fedorov, the same player who conceded the penalty, outjumped defender Nino and nodded the ball into the corner. It was his first goal in the Russian Premier League.
Zenit kept pressing in the second half. In the 59th minute, they equalized: Glushenkov again played a key role with a through ball that sent Henrique one-on-one, and the Brazilian slotted home into the far corner first time.
Zenit immediately pushed for a second: Santos crossed, Alexander Sobolev headed dangerously, but Degtev denied him again. A few minutes later, he saved from Andrei Mostovoy’s volley.
Then, in the 76th minute, 36-year-old Erokhin came on to save the day. This season, he hadn’t started a single match or played more than ten minutes in any game. Coach Sergei Semak’s substitution paid off: from a corner, the ball was not cleared, Degtev failed to punch it away, and Erokhin was waiting at the far post to tap into an empty net. It was the 84th minute. The entire team celebrated in a pile.
After the goal, Sochi had no chance to equalize, and Zenit held on for a nerve-wracking win.
Semak explained why it was so tough against the last-placed team.
Zenit is temporarily top of the table. The champion will be decided on the final matchday once again. Zenit now leads by two points, at least until Monday. Next up, Zenit travels to Rostov-on-Don, while Krasnodar hosts Orenburg. The title race between Zenit and Krasnodar has gone down to the last round for three consecutive seasons.
