Hulk was at his destructive best, setting up goals for Artem Dzyuba and Oleg Shatov as the Russian side took a firm grip on Group H.
Hulk left defenders in his wake throughout in St Petersburg, never more so than for the 35th-minute opener. His marker, Rafinha, was sitting on the turf as the No7’s cross was headed in by Artem Dzyuba. Thomas Matton levelled, but it merely reawakened the beast as Hulk’s perfectly-weighted pass set up Oleg Shatov for the winner.
It took strong hands from Matz Sels to keep out Ezequiel Garay’s lovely free-kick though much of the home threat came from Hulk’s destructive runs, the Brazilian punching holes in the defence. Dzyuba could not capitalise with a volley midway through the half, but his header did the job.
Gent were struggling to make headway, with their nascent attacks invariably cut short by the foraging Axel Witsel. The Belgium midfielder was overrun at the start of the second period though as Gent looked to fashion a riposte that duly came when Matton volleyed in Sven Kums’ cross.
Having held Lyon to a draw on matchday one despite being down to nine men, Gent looked set to upset the odds again but Hulk had other ideas. With 67 minutes gone he orchestrated a move that ended in Shatov, returning from a knock, lifting the ball over Sels and into the net.
Group H standings after two games
Zenit 6
Valencia 3
Gent 1
Lyon 1
