Zenit St Petersburg began their 2014-15 Champions League campaign in imperious fashion this evening with a comfortable 2-0 away victory over 10-man Benfica in Group C.
Hulk put the visitors in front after just five minutes with an assured finish after collecting Oleg Shatov's measured through-ball.
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Nicolas Gaitan tried to claw the home side back into the game within five minutes, but his strong strike was dealt with by Juri Lodigin.
The home side's task became twice as difficult in the 16th minute when Artur was shown a straight red card for a cynical foul on Danny, who was bearing down on an open goal.
Hulk flashed the resulting free kick wide, but Axel Witsel made it 2-0 shortly after with a strong header that just about crept over the line.
Hulk continued to cause havoc for the home side and went close to grabbing his second of the night in the 31st minute when he drilled a low shot inches wide of the near post.
Luisao gave the visitors a scare after the break with a header that Lodigin did well to claw away, but Hulk almost put the game out of reach soon after, only to see his shot come back off the post.
Zenit continued to pass up opportunities to grab a third as Rondon wasted a one-on-one chance, and Zenit ran out the remaining few minutes to seal a well-deserved three points.
Kristian Johnson
