UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - 2020/21 SEASON MATCH PRESS KITS Saint Petersburg Stadium - St Petersburg Tuesday 20 October 2020 FC Zenit 18.55CET (19.55 local time) Club Brugge Group F - Matchday 1 Last updated 29/10/2020 15:33CET UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE OFFICIAL SPONSORS Match background 2 Legend 4 1 FC Zenit - Club Brugge Tuesday 20 October 2020 - 18.55CET (19.55 local time) Match press kit Saint Petersburg Stadium, St Petersburg Match background Having both failed to get out of their respective UEFA Champions League sections in 2019/20, Zenit and Club Brugge will be keen to make a positive start to their latest attempts to reach the round of 16 when they meet in St Petersburg in the first round of Group F fixtures. • While Club Brugge were third in their section last season on three points – courtesy of three draws – Zenit recorded two wins and seven points, but nevertheless finished bottom of their group. Previous meetings • The sides' only fixtures before this season came in the 1987/88 UEFA Cup first round. Zenit were 2-0 winners in the home first leg but Club Brugge wiped that out with a 5-0 victory back in Belgium, Kenneth Brylle Larsen doing most of the damage with four goals. Form guide Zenit • Zenit claimed their seventh USSR/Russian league title in 2019/20, and their second in a row; their last six triumphs have all come from 2007 onwards. They also added the Russian Cup to complete the club's second domestic double. • This is the St Petersburg outfit's eighth UEFA Champions League group campaign; they reached the round of 16 in 2011/12, 2013/14 and 2015/16 but have never progressed further. • In 2019/20, Zenit finished fourth in their section, behind RB Leipzig, Lyon and Benfica despite picking up seven points from their six matches. It was their earliest European exit since 2009/10, when they were eliminated in the UEFA Europa League play-offs. • The St Petersburg team have won only three of their last 11 European matches (D1 L7). • Zenit have also recorded only two victories in their last nine UEFA Champions League games (D1 L6). • Zenit's last fixtures with a Belgian club came in the 2016/17 UEFA Europa League round of 32, the Russian club bowing out to Anderlecht on away goals having lost 2-0 in Belgium before a 3-1 home success in which they conceded in the 90th minute. • That home win did extend Zenit's perfect record against Belgian visitors in their own stadium – they have won all seven contests, scoring 17 goals and conceding only three. Club Brugge • Club Brugge are in the group stage for the third year in a row, the first time they have achieved that feat; it is their eighth UEFA Champions League group appearance overall. They have never progressed to the knockout rounds. • In 2019/20, the Belgian side finished third behind Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid in Group A, picking up three points (D3 L3). It was the second year running they had finished third in their group. • They went on to lose to Manchester United in the UEFA Europa League round of 32 (1-1 h, 0-5 a). • Club Brugge have won only one of their last 18 fixtures in the UEFA Champions League proper (D6 L11). • Philippe Clement's side claimed Club Brugge's 16th Belgian league title in 2019/20, and third in the last five seasons. • Club Brugge have not played a Russian club in European competition since 2002, when they picked up one point from their two games against Lokomotiv Moskva (0-0 h, 0-2 a) in the UEFA Champions League first group stage. • That loss at Lokomotiv in November 2002 made it four defeats from four matches in Russia for Club Brugge; they have scored only once in those games, conceding eight goals. The Belgian side's only win in an away fixture against a Russian team came in Berlin, where they beat CSKA Moskva 2-1 in the inaugural UEFA Champions League group stage in 1992/93. Links and trivia • Have played together: Dejan Lovren & Simon Mignolet (Liverpool 2014–19) Yaroslav Rakits'kyy & Eduard Sobol (Shakhtar 2013–14) Sebastián Driussi & Éder Balanta (River Plate 2011–16) • Lovren and Mignolet were members of Liverpool's victorious 2018/19 UEFA Champions League squad. • Driussi and Balanta were both in the River side that won the Copa Sudamericana in 2014 and the Copa Libertadores the following year. • International team-mates: 2 FC Zenit - Club Brugge Tuesday 20 October 2020 - 18.55CET (19.55 local time) Match press kit Saint Petersburg Stadium, St Petersburg Yaroslav Rakits'kyy & Eduard Sobol (Ukraine) Wílmar Barrios & Éder Balanta (Colombia) Dejan Lovren & Matej Mitrović (Croatia) • Mignolet conceded three goals in Belgium's 3-3 friendly draw against Russia in March 2017; Zenit's Magomed Ozdoev and Aleksandr Erokhin appeared for the hosts. • Emmanuel Bonaventure scored against Shakhtar for Zorya Luhansk in the Ukrainian Premier League on 2 April 2017; despite Rakits'kyy's red card, the visitors still won 2-1. Latest news Zenit • Summer transfers In: Dejan Lovren (Liverpool), Wendel (Sporting) Out: Branislav Ivanović (West Brom), Igor Smolnikov (Krasnodar), Oleg Shatov (Rubin), Aleksandr Kokorin (Spartak Moskva), Emanuel Mammana (Sochi, loan), Emiliano Rigoni (Elche) • Zenit are on a run of six domestic games without a loss (W3 D3). They were 3-1 winners at home to Sochi on Saturday. • The 1-0 defeat at Dinamo Moskva on 26 August is Zenit's sole loss in their last 30 Russian Premier League games (W22 D7). • Zenit beat Lokomotiv Moskva 2-1 in the Russian Super Cup on 7 August. • Andrei Mostovoy won his first cap on 7 October as Russia lost 2-1 in a Moscow friendly against Sweden. • Sardar Azmoun's 32nd international goal helped Iran to a 2-1 friendly victory against Uzbekistan on 8 October. • On Saturday Sebastián Driussi returned from a knee injury that had kept him out since 26 August. • Malcom has been training separately because of an injury. Club Brugge • Summer transfers In: Noa Lang (Ajax, loan) Out: Erhan Mašović (Bochum), Cyril Ngonge (RKC Waalwijk), Jordi Vanlerberghe (Mechelen), Guillaume Hubert (Oostende), Ahmed Touba (RKC Waalwijk), Kaveh Rezaei (Charleroi, loan), Loïs Openda (Vitesse, loan); Siemen Voet (Mechelen, loan), Thibault Vlietinck (OH Leuven, loan) • Club Brugge lost two of their first three league games this season but had won five in a row, scoring 17 goals and conceding only three, before drawing 1-1 at Standard Liège on Saturday. • The Bruges side had won their three previous away games this season, scoring 12 goals and conceding only one, before being held at Standard. • Club Brugge are the joint leading scorers in the Belgian top flight this season with 22 goals. • Top scorer Hans Vanaken has five goals in his nine league appearance this season. • Noa Lang provided an assist in the Netherlands' 7-0 win in Cyprus in UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying on 13 October. • Matej Mitrović has not played since the 5-0 loss at Manchester United in last season's UEFA Europa League round of 32 second leg on 27 February and has a heel problem. 3 FC Zenit - Club Brugge Tuesday 20 October 2020 - 18.55CET (19.55 local time) Match press kit Saint Petersburg Stadium, St Petersburg Legend ALL-TIME STATISTICS The all-time record of the competing clubs in UEFA club competition. UEFA club competition: These are the official statistics considered valid for communicating official records in UEFA club competition defined as European Champion Clubs' Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Cup Winner's Cup UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Intertoto Cup and European/South American Cup. Matches in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and the 1972 Super Cup are not included as they were not held under UEFA auspices, while the FIFA Club World Cup is excluded. Match officials UCL: Total matches officiated in the UEFA Champions League from 1992/93 season, group stage to final only. Matches where the official has acted as the fourth official are not included in these statistics. These are the official statistics considered valid for communicating official records. UEFA: Total matches officiated in UEFA club competition including all qualifying round matches. Matches where the official has acted as the fourth official are not included in these statistics. These are the official statistics considered valid for communicating official records. Competitions Club competitions National team competitions UCL: UEFA Champions League EURO: UEFA European Football Championship ECCC: European Champion Clubs' Cup WC: FIFA World Cup UEL: UEFA Europa League CONFCUP: FIFA Confederations Cup UCUP: UEFA Cup FRIE: Friendly internationals UCWC: UEFA Cup Winners' Cup U21FRIE: Under-21 friendly internationals SCUP: UEFA Super Cup U21: UEFA European Under-21 Championship UIC: UEFA Intertoto Cup U17: UEFA Under-17 Championship ICF: Inter-Cities Fairs Cup U16: UEFA European Under-16 Championship U19: UEFA Under-19 Championship U18: UEFA European Under-18 Championship WWC: FIFA Women's World Cup WEURO: UEFA European Women's Championship Competition stages Other abbreviations F: Final GS: Group stage (aet): After extra time pens: Penalties GS1: First group stage GS2: Second group stage No.: Number og: Own goal 3QR: Third qualifying round R1: First round ag: Match decided on away P: Penalty R2: Second round R3: Third round goals agg: Aggregate R4: Fourth round PR: Preliminary round Pld: Matches played AP: Appearances SF: Semi-finals QF: Quarter-finals Pos.: Position Comp.: Competition R16: round of 16 QR: Qualifying round Pts: Points D: Drawn R32: Round of 32 1QR: First qualifying round R: Sent off (straight red card) DoB: Date of birth 1st: first leg 2QR: