The Zenit Gazette
Player ratings24 Jan 2028
Viktor Gyökeres was unplayable
Successful dribbles: 25. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Words exchanged at Zenit
Nikita Krivtsov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Market24 Jan 2028
Zenit may not be able to give Du Queiróz what he wants
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Du Queiróz wants continental football; whether Zenit can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Match22 Jan 2028
Andrey Mostovoy the difference as Zenit beat Lokomotiv Moscow
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Andrey Mostovoy. 1‑0 against Lokomotiv Moscow, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings24 Jan 2028
Andrey Mostovoy was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.19. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Words at Zenit training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Du Queiróz is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Loan watch24 Jan 2028
Vadim Shilov wants to come home
“I did not go to SKA Khabarovsk to sit and watch. I want to come back to Zenit and fight for my place.” 7 appearances in 31 matches say the rest.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Alexandr Semak signs on for more
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Alexandr Semak and Zenit agree another 3 years.
The dugout24 Jan 2028
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Yefrem Rakov, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
In brief
- The dugout Igor Diveev has become a man the manager trusts
- Squad The division's best last weekend was a Zenit man
- Market The Robert Renan story refuses to die