MOSCOW, March 19 (RIA Novosti) - UEFA Cup holders Zenit St. Petersburg and 2005 champions CSKA Moscow were both knocked out of the tournament on Thursday evening in a disappointing night for Russian football.
Zenit, beaten 2-0 in Italy by Udinese a week ago, launched straight into a wave of attacks as they tried to claw their way back into the tie.
Playing in front of a vocal home crowd in Russia's northern capital, Dick Advocaat's men had a clear penalty turned down in the early stages after a Udinese defender handled in the box. However, they eventually broke the deadlock when captain Anatoliy Tymoshchuk headed home from a corner in the 34th minute.
Portuguese international Danny fired wide and Viktor Faizulin put over the bar as Zenit tried to level the tie before the break.
The second half saw the Russian club dominate again, but the second goal would just not come, and Udinese progressed 2-1 on aggregate into the last eight.
A Vagner Love penalty was the difference between CSKA Moscow and Ukrainians Shakhtar Donetsk in the Russian capital last Thursday, and it was another penalty and another Brazilian, Fernandinho, who leveled the tie in the 54th minute.
Shakhtar were clearly the stronger side, and deservedly scored a second in the 70th minute, Luiz Adriano slotting home after an error by Igor Akinfeev in the CSKA goal to give the Donetsk club a 2-0 victory on the night and 2-1 on aggregate.
The result means that Ukraine will have two clubs in the last eight of the UEFA Cup, after Dynamo Kiev defeated Metalist Kharkiv on away goals in an all-Ukrainian affair. The draw for the next round, and the last eight of the Champions League, takes place in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday.
