Zenit St Petersburg are in control of Valencia as they lead the Spaniards 2-0 at half time in the Champions League.
Joao Cancelo nearly gave Valencia the perfect start to the match, but his drive from distance smacked the post before rebounding away.
Sofiane Feghouli then headed wide from a Pablo Piatti cross as the Spaniards looked to strike in the opening exchanges.
It was Zenit who grabbed the early goal though, as the Russian strikeforce countered with Danny playing in Hulk, who fired in from the edge of the area.
Alex Witsel looked to double the lead when he sent a shot straight down Jaume Domenech's throat before the Frenchman did well to parry a long-range Hulk drive.
The Brazilian then narrowly missed with a lob from 45 yards out before smashing in an unstoppable effort from some distance to give his side a comfortable two-goal lead at the break.
