Borussia Dortmund took a big step towards the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday with a 4-2 win at Zenit St Petersburg in the first leg of their last-16 tie.
Two goals inside the opening five minutes from Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Marco Reus gave the visitors a commanding 2-0 lead at half time.
Oleg Shatov pulled a goal back for Zenit on 57 minutes, but Robert Lewandowski restored Dortmund's two-goal advantage moments later.
A penalty from Hulk with 20 minutes left to play looked to have given the hosts another lifeline, only for Lewandowski to score his second of the match soon after.
Read Sports Mole's minute-by-minute report below to find out how all of the action unfolded.
Hello there and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of this evening's first-leg tie between Zenit St Petersburg and Borussia Dortmund in the last 16 of the Champions League. We should hopefully have some team news coming through any minute.
Tonight's match between Zenit and Dortmund promises to be an intriguing encounter. However, it is the first time that the two sides have played each other.
Both teams just about squeezed through their respective groups to get here. Zenit finished in second place in Group G, one point above Austria Vienna and former champions Porto. Meanwhile, Dortmund topped Group G above Arsenal and Napoli on goal difference.
Tonight's other match in the Champions League sees Manchester United travel to Greece to face Olympiacos. You'll be able to follow live text coverage of that clash right here on Sports Mole from 6.45pm BST.
Zenit's recent record against German sides is a good one, winning three and drawing one of their last four encounters in all competitions. However, Dortmund have enjoyed an identical record when it comes to previous meetings against Russian teams.
RECENT FORM:
ZENIT: WLLWLW
DORTMUND: WWWWWL
As you can see below, it's Dortmund who have been in better form these past weeks. However, Jurgen Klopp's side are already a whopping 10 points behind leaders Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga table, a deficit that has led the charismatic coach to claim that his team 'does not have a chance' of winning their domestic title.
In contrast to Bayern's domestic woes, Zenit are on course for a fifth Russian Premier League title. They currently lead the standings on goal difference.
Dortmund captain Sebastian Kehl speaking to reporters before the match: "They're really awkward opponents. They've got great individuals. It'd be great to come away with a similar result (as their 2-2 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk at the same stage last season), but Zenit are a much tougher proposition than most German fans and journalists think. It won't be easy."
ZENIT: Lodygin; Anyukov, Lombaerts, Neto, Criscito; Shatov, Witsel, Fayzulin; Hulk, Rondon, Arshavin
Zenit coach Luciano Spalletti has made five changes to his side following their last competitive game, which was on December 11 when they lost 4-1 to Austria Vienna in the Champions League group stage. Anyukov, Neto, Shatov, Rondon and Arshavin all come into the starting XI.
DORTMUND: Weidenfeller; Piszczek, Sokratis, Friedrich, Schmelzer; Kehl, Sahin; Reus, Mkhitaryan, Grosskreutz; Lewandowski
Just the two changes for Dortmund following Saturday's 3-0 defeat to Hamburg in the Bundesliga as Kehl and Reus are both recalled by Jurgen Klopp.
If Zenit's record against German teams in the Champions League has been good in recent times, they've struggled overall at home. The Russians have drawn their last four encounters in front of their home fans. In fact, they're the only side left in this season's competition not to have won on home turf.
PREDICTION: We here at Sports Mole can see Dortmund coming away with a 2-0 win this evening, giving themselves a huge boost ahead of the return leg on March 19. Zenit have struggled once too often in this season's competition, and they could well pay for it tonight.
Don't forget that you can follow live text commentary of tonight's other last-16 tie involving Manchester United and Olympiacos in Greece with our coverage from 6.54pm BST.
Around five minutes to go until kickoff and the teams are ready to step out from the tunnel and onto the pitch at the Petrovsky Stadium. As you can imagine, there are one or two serious faces among the players.
KICKOFF! The players are out, the pre-match handshakes have been done, and it will be Dortmund to get us underway. There's a cracking atmosphere inside the ground as both sets of fans make plenty of noise. The Dortmund supporters in particular are creating a right old racket.
It's been a lively start from Zenit as they look to press Dortmund instantly. One promising attack sees Rondon surge forward with men in support, but his pass to Hulk is cut out by the visiting defence. Lewandowski then gets a sniff at the other end, only to run the ball out of play with a heavy touch.
GOAL! ZENIT 0-1 DORTMUND (MKHITARYAN)
GOAL! ZENIT 0-2 DORTMUND (REUS)
Oh my word! What a couple of minutes for Dortmund! They lead Zenit 2-0 thanks to two quick-fire goals from Mkhitaryan and Reus! The first goal saw Mhitaryan sweep the ball home from close range following good work from Reus. The second was from Reus himself, volleying in from inside the box with a lethal strike. Staggering stuff in Russia.
Zenit are well and truly shell-shocked. How do they come back from this? They showed plenty of enthusiasm at the start of the match, but that's all evaporated due to Dortmund's ruthless finishing in the final third. The Germans are comfortably in control now.
Dortmund are using the space of the pitch very well at the moment. They're stretching Zenit with some decent passing and movement as the hosts chase around in vain for possession. A bit of a worry from the home side as well as Arshavin clutches at his hamstring. He seems to be okay for now though.
Zenit coach Luciano Spalletti is prowling the touchline with a face like thunder. He must be wondering just how his side allowed themselves to concede two goals so early in the game. However, there is still a long way to go in this tie.
SUBSTITUTION: Zenit are forced into an early change as Arshavin is goes off with that hamstring problem. Tymoshchuk enters the action in his place.
The hosts are showing a bit more concentration now, but you could argue that the damage has already been done. Dortmund are still looking well in control, and a third goal for them could kill off this tie completely.
This is better from Zenit. They're starting to enjoy a bit more of the ball, though they're struggling to do anything with it. The Dortmund defence hasn't actually looked that convincing so far, but the Russians have been toothless in attack.
Zenit really aren't doing themselves any favours in terms of their attacking play. They've had plenty of chances to get at the Dortmund defence tonight, but their passing has been poor. Meanwhile, Dortmund are happy to soak up any pressure and break on the counter.
A bit of a half-chance for Zenit there as Hulk works himself some space before shooting towards goal with his left foot. However, Weidenfeller makes a comfortable save.
Close for Dortmund, but the flag goes up for offside. Reus whips a devilish free kick into the heart of the Zenit penalty area before Lewandowski, unmarked, heads over the crossbar. Reus then tries to bend an effort into the far post from the edge of the box, only to see his effort go narrowly wide.
Despite Zenit's two-goal deficit, it's all very even at the moment. Both teams are seeing plenty of the ball, but both are also struggling to create anything meaningful in front of goal as he head towards the final 10 minutes of the half.
You've got to love Jurgen Klopp. The Dortmund coach is down on the touchline barking out orders in his inimitable way. He doesn't seem to annoyed though, and nor should he. The visitors have been hardly troubled by Zenit so far.
CHANCE! Dortmund win a free kick in a decent position, around 25 yards from goal. It's Reus who steps up to take it, but his tame effort is well held by Lodygin.
Five minutes left to play until half time and there isn't a great deal going on at the moment. Zenit will have to be careful though because they're giving away a lot of needless free kicks in fairly dangerous positions. A third goal for Dortmund could well signal the end of this tie.
Credit to the Dortmund fans for the noise they have made so far this evening. They have not stopped singing. On the pitch their team is still looking in control as the half-time whistle approaches.
Just the one minute of added time at the end of this first half...
HALF TIME: ZENIT 0-2 DORTMUND
The half-time whistle goes and it's Dortmund who are in firm control as two early goals have put them 2-0 up at the break.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan fired the visitors into a third-minute lead before Marco Reus doubled their advantage 70 seconds later. However, the Germans didn't have it all their own way after that. Zenit have shown some promise, but they need to get their act together in the final third if they want a say in this match.
Looking for a concise report of the first-half action? You can find Sports Mole's right here.
It's difficult to see how Zenit are going to turn things around in the second half, but they're going to need something special. That said, Luciano Spalletti could be telling his players to stay tight at the back and then maybe try to nick a goal to take to Germany with them.
SECOND HALF UNDERWAY! The players are back out and it will be Zenit to kick us off for the second half. No changes for either side at the break.
CHANCE! An early opening for Dortmund at the start of this second half as Lewandowski lets rip from a tight angle inside the box, but Lodygin is there to push the ball behind. The visitors can't make anything of the resulting corner.
Not much in the way of dominance from anyone at the moment as the two sides attack and counter-attack. One area where Zenit will be happier right now though is up front as Hulk is looking a lot busier. He's already caused Dortmund a few problems in this half.
CHANCE! Almost a comical own goal from Tymoshchuk as his attempted backpass nearly finds the net, but Lodygin scrambles across to kick the ball out. The Russians really haven't helped themselves tonight.
GOAL! ZENIT 1-2 DORTMUND (SHATOV)
Zenit have a lifeline as Shatov converts in a crowded penalty area! Rondon and Hulk both had spurned chances from close range before Shatov showed plenty of composure to thump the ball in from about eight yards. However, should it have counted? Rondon looked to be in an offside position in the build-up.
Jurgen Klopp will be furious with that goal as his players struggled to clear the danger, despite having about a dozen chances to do so. What will Shatov's strike do to this tie? Dortmund are still in command, but Zenit now have something to work with.
GOAL! ZENIT 1-3 DORTMUND (LEWANDOWSKI)
Boom! Just like that, Dortmund regain their two-goal lead! Lewandowski led a fast-paced counter-attack before offloading to Piszczek. Piszczek then squared the ball back to his teammate inside the box, and there was Lewandowski to fire in with minimum fuss.
Some worrying news here for Dortmund as Sokratis goes down following a clash with Hulk. The last thing that the Germans need is another injury in defence.
Sokratis return to the pitch, which brings a smile to the face of Jurgen Klopp. Dortmund are still in control here and you wouldn't bet against them adding to their tally by the end of the evening. As it stands, Zenit need a miracle to go through to the quarter-finals, evening with the second leg to come on March 19.
PENALTY TO ZENIT!
GOAL! ZENIT 2-3 DORTMUND (HULK, PENALTY)
Zenit grab themselves another lifeline as Hulk smashes home from the penalty spot following Piszczek's foul on Fayzulin. It was a dubious decision to point to the spot from the referee as it looked like Fayzulin simply ran into the defender. Still, Zenit don't care one bit.
GOAL! ZENIT 2-4 DORTMUND (LEWANDOWSKI)
Would you believe it?! Dortmund get themselves a fourth goal of the evening, with Lewandowski netting his second of the match. Reus dispossesses Tymoshchuk before feeding Lewandowski, who makes no mistake by shooting into the far corner. Clinical stuff from the Germans. Meanwhile, Aubameyang has replaced Mkhitaryan for the visitors.
To be honest, this has been a fairly barmy game. Zenit have fought back a couple of times to give themselves a chance, but no sooner have they scored than conceded almost instantly. With four away goals, it's hard to look past Dortmund progressing easily.
It's hard to predict what's going to come next in this match. Despite being behind, Zenit are pushing hard to get another goal to take back to Germany with them. It's admirable stuff from the hosts, but it may well lead to Dortmund grabbing a fifth of the evening.
Just over 10 minutes left to play at the Petrovsky Stadium and Dortmund look happy to sit back and sting Zenit on the counter-attack. It certainly worked for their last goal as Lewandowski was able to finish following swift break.
SUBSTITUTIONS: Zenit make a double change now as Smolnikov and Kerzhakov replace Fayzulin and Anyukov, who saw his cross well cut out by Weidenfeller only a few moments ago.
SUBSTITUTION: Now it's Dortmund's turn to make a swap as Reus comes off for Hofmann. A little over five minutes of normal time left to play in this match.
Can Zenit find just one more goal ahead of the second leg. It could make all the difference if they want to cause an upset and turn this tie around. It's looking unlikely at the minute as Dortmound run down the clock with some leisurely passing.
SUBSTITUTION: Another change for Dortmund sees Durm enter the action in place of Grosskreutz. Meanwhile, the fourth official indicates that there will be four minutes of added time.
FULL TIME: ZENIT 2-4 DORTMUND
The whistle goes and it's Borussia Dortmund who have the upper hand in this tie thanks to a 4-2 win over Zenit St Petersburg. The Germans are even bigger favourites to go through now after scoring four away goals. They can seal their progress in front of their home fans when they host the return leg on March 19.
That's all from me for now but don't forget that you can keep up to date with all of the reaction from tonight's match here on Sports Mole. We also have live text coverage of this evening's other tie involving Olypiacos and Manchester United. You can follow that game here. Thanks for your company and we hope to see you again soon. Goodbye!
