Challenge

Gazprom Arena
Spectators: 40 (Terracing: 31, Seating: 9, VIP seats: 0) Zafer Hürsel took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Joel Gaona, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 5th minute Emanuel Emander shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Dante Lacasa saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Zafer Hürsel didn't succeed to prevent the ball from going into goal when Mexico's Joel Gaona shot an unexpected shot in the crossbar's under edge and made 0-1 in the ordered_time% minute. In the 14th minute of the match Mexico got a corner. FC Zenit Saint Petersburg's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Joel Gaona ran over to the corner to take the kick. Mexico's Macos Graciani was first on the ball when the corner was shot and he dangerously headed the ball towards goal, but Zafer Hürsel in the goal jumped up to prevent it from getting in. Alberto Tafalla kicked well hit freekick during the 19th minute of the match. Jörgen Ekeroth hit a great freekick 23 minutes into the match. In the 26th minute Emanuel Emander shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Dante Lacasa saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Zafer Hürsel showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Alberto Tafalla, who was totally free with the ball in the 27th minute. An unexpectedly hard shot by Alberto Tafalla in the 28th minute of play forced FC Zenit Saint Petersburg's goalkeeper Zafer Hürsel to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Mexico's Dante Lacasa played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Emanuel Emander in the 31st minute of play. Facundo Cadaval's late challenge caught a FC Zenit Saint Petersburg's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Facundo Cadaval helped the player get up and apologised. The supporters of FC Zenit Saint Petersburg booed when Mexico was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 44 match minutes in a wonderful position. Facundo Cadaval didn't get a good kick on the ball. The FC Zenit Saint Petersburg players were disheartened as they walked off the pitch after the first half. Mexico were winning 0-1.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Håkan Kjellman stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. In the 52nd minute, Felix Luque hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. In the 57th minute of the match Mexico got a corner. FC Zenit Saint Petersburg's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Joel Gaona ran over to the corner to take the kick. A nice corner shot did that Joel Gaona got away a dangerous shot. Despite this Zafer Hürsel quite easily got ahold of the ball to make the save. Zafer Hürsel showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Alberto Tafalla, who was totally free with the ball in the 61st minute. Dante Lacasa made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Emanuel Emander in the 62nd minute of play. The supporters of Mexico booed when FC Zenit Saint Petersburg was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 67 match minutes in a wonderful position. Peter Snell didn't get a good kick on the ball. 73 minutes into the game, Joel Gaona was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Mexico's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave FC Zenit Saint Petersburg the free kick. Joel Gaona kicked well hit freekick during the 73rd minute of the match. After a rather tough play, Mexico's Joel Gaona got a free kick in the 74th minute. Luca Rouco hit a great freekick 87 minutes into the match. After taking down the ball on Mexico's corner Joel Gaona fired away a hard shot, but the defenders efficiently covered the most dangerous angles and Zafer Hürsel quite easily take care of the ball. Lautaro Mancebo kicked well hit freekick during the 97th minute of the match. The Mexico supporters could be heard counting down the last seconds of the match. They errupted in celebration when the whistle blew, knowing Mexico would go home with victory in their luggage after a match that easily could have ended differently.