Zenit Beat Crvena Zvezda 3:1: Photos from Gazprom Arena

Friendlies are a strange assignment for a match photographer. Nothing official is on the line, yet this is exactly where coaches experiment with lineups and players test themselves against unfamiliar opponents. I got to Gazprom Arena early, walked the perimeter, checked the light, and picked out spots near the box — something told me a penalty was coming.

That instinct paid off. In the 20th minute, Alexander Sobolev calmly converted a penalty to put Zenit ahead, and I managed to catch both the strike and the stand’s reaction in one frame. The match kept building from there: Roman Vega doubled the lead in the 61st minute, and by the 74th, Felipe Augusto had added a third for the home side. Between those two goals I was constantly repositioning — the play shifted sides faster than I could reset, and keeping both the box and the flank in frame became a real test of patience.

Crvena Zvezda didn’t fold. In the 81st minute, Mohammad Abu Fani pulled one back, giving the closing stretch a tension the match had lost after Zenit’s third goal. By the final whistle I was already scrolling through the take — three of the four goals landed in the right phase, which is about as good as this kind of shoot gets.

See the full gallery with the best moments from Zenit vs Crvena Zvezda here.