Roman Shirokov blasted home an 88th-minute winner to give Zenit St. Petersburg a 3-2 win over Benfica in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday.
Shirokov's dramatic winner came barely a minute after Benfica's Oscar Cardozo looked to have earned a 2-2 draw for the visitors when he tapped in a fumble from Zenit keeper Yuri Zhevnov.
Zhevnov, who replaced injured No. 1 choice Vyacheslav Malafeev, had gifted Benfica the lead on 20 minutes, spilling a Cardozo free kick to allow right-back Maxi Pereira to slot into an unguarded net.
Shirokov coolly made it 1-1 with a steered volley into the corner of the goal from a Tomas Hubocan cross on 27 minutes.
The hosts went in front through substitute Sergei Semak's deft backheel from a Vladimir Bystrov cross 20 minutes before the final whistle.
The result on a freezing night in St. Petersburg gives injury-depleted Zenit a razor-thin advantage going into the second leg in Lisbon on March 6.
"At 2-2, the team showed it has a big personality, a big heart," Zenit coach Luciano Spalletti said. "We scored three goals, three very good goals, especially the second, Semak's, which was one of this team's most beautiful goals."
Benfica coach Jorge Jesus sounded upbeat despite the loss.
"Of course we conceded three goals, and that means we played badly in defense," he said. "But we scored two and that's an achievement in attack."
The first half started slowly as both sides struggled to come to terms with the poor-quality pitch.
After a scrappy first 20 minutes during which both sides sat back, a rare Benfica break ended in Zenit center-back Nicolas Lombaerts tripping Rodrigo 25 yards out to set up the opening goal.
Zenit responded well, driven on by the full-throated crowd at the Petrovsky Stadium, and carved out chances that were miscued by Shirokov and Nicolas Lombaerts.
After Shirokov's equalizer, Zenit kept up the pressure for the rest of the half, coming close to a second when stand-in striker Maxim Kanunnikov played a slow cross through the six-yard box that evaded his onrushing teammates.
A more frantic pace in the second half prevented many clear-cut chances being created, with the action getting bogged down in midfield.
Bystrov, who has started only four league matches this season, came on for Kanunnikov after the hour, and immediately gave Zenit more energy on the right flank, leading to the goal that put the hosts ahead.
Zenit striker Alexander Kerzhakov flicked the ball into the box from wide on the goal line for Bystrov to lift onto the outstretched heel of 35-year-old Semak, who guided it past the helpless Artur in the Benfica goal.
With five minutes left of normal time, Zhevnov's handling was again called into question, as he fumbled a tame shot to allow Cardozo an easy finish. Zhevnov's nerves were mirrored by Pereira for Benfica, who fumbled a clearance to set up Shirokov's winner at the death.
