Zenit St. Petersburg have lost all hopes of qualifying for the Champions League knockout stage, after only managing a draw at home versus Group C leaders Malaga.

A double strike early in the game meant a dream start for Malaga and a web blanket for the hosts. Diego Buonanotte opened the scoring on the visitors' first attack in the eighth minute, and a minute later Roque Santa Cruz stole the ball from goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev, passing it to Seba, who stunned Zenit by hammering the ball into an empty corner.

It took Zenit some time to recover. After a series of missed opportunities they scored courtesy of Miguel Danny, who beat Malaga’s keeper from close range to narrow the gap in the 49th. Within seconds, Aleksandr Kerzhakov missed an empty net and postponed the equalizer until late in the game.

It was substitute Viktor Faizulin who salvaged a point at 84 minutes, scoring from a poor clearance after Danny managed to miss from a yard out.

A late assault brought the Russian champions nothing as Malaga showed no intention to concede any further.  

The Spaniards consequently qualify out of Group C in their first-ever Champions League campaign. AC Milan, who beat Anderlecht on the road later Wednesday, grabbed the second lucky ticket. The only remaining intrigue in the group is over who will take the third place and travel to the Europa League next spring.

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