Zenit routs Bayern 4-0 to reach UEFA Cup final

Updated: May 1, 2008, 5:17 PM EST 157 comments

"This was my best match this season and one of my best ones in my career," said Pogrebnyak, who will miss the final after he was booked in the 76th.

It was a stunning defeat for Bayern, which came into the competition as the clear favorite after missing out on the Champions League. It also ended the German club's hopes for a treble this season - it won the German Cup last month and is close to wrapping up the Bundesliga title.

"The key for us was not to allow Bayern to play their game," said Zenit coach Dick Advocaat. "Zenit is not a super club, but we have taken a big step in that direction."

Pogrebnyak gave Zenit the lead in the fourth minute with a free kick from 23 meters (yards) that went through the wall of defenders and past Bayern goalkeeper Oliver Kahn.

Zyryanov then made it 2-0 in the 39th with a shot into the left side of the net, while Fayzulin added the third by heading in Aleksandr Anyukov's cross in the 49th.

Pogrebnyak made it 4-0 off Alejandro Domingues' cross in the 73rd, tying Bayern's Luca Toni as the tournament's scoring leaders with 10 goals each.

Toni had a good chance to put Bayern ahead in the third minute, but his shot on an empty net from inside the box was cleared on the goal line by defender Kim Dong-jin.

After conceding the first goal, Bayern pressed for an equalizer.

UEFA Cup semifinals

• UEFA Cup, May 1

"It was tough near our goal through the entire match," Zenit goalkeeper Vaycheslav Malafeev said.

Malafeev dived to stop Franck Ribery's low drive from 25 meters, and Toni headed over the crossbar in the 26th.

Zenit replied with dangerous counter attacks.

Kahn blocked Alexander Anyukov's shot from the left in the 18th and Pogrebnyak was unable to head in the loose ball before Zyryanov doubled the lead.

Zenit was missing three regular starters - midfielders Andrei Arshavin and Radek Sirl and defender Fernando Ricksen - through suspension.

Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld substituted Ze Roberto for third striker Lukas Podolski after the interval but the German league leader could not break through.

"Zenit really played perfect today," Malafeev said. "We capitalized on the chances we had."

It was Bayern's biggest loss since a 5-1 drubbing by Schalke in the Bundesliga in January 2002. The four-goal defeat matched its largest in a UEFA competition: This was the fifth time, the first since a 6-2 loss at Copenhagen in the UEFA Cup on Oct. 22, 1991.

Zenit is only the second Russian club to reach the UEFA Cup final, with CSKA Moscow winning the title in 2005.

Zenit will meet either Fiorentina or Rangers on May 14 in Manchester,England. Fiorentina held Rangers to a 0-0 draw in the first leg in Glasgow.

"Zenit definitely will be the favorite in the final," Hitzfeld said. "The team that beats Bayern 4-0 could not be anything but the favorite."

Bayern, which won the tournament in 1996 and is a four-time Champions League winner, was making its fourth appearance in the UEFA Cup semifinals.