Зенит — Сочи 2:1: камбэк, пенальти и Ерохин на 84-й

On paper, Zenit hosting Sochi on Matchday 9 of the Russian Premier League read like a routine assignment for any sports photographer in Saint Petersburg. League leaders against the team at the bottom, lights up at Gazprom Arena, the usual flow. I dialled in my settings, picked my spots behind both goals, and got ready to shoot a comfortable home win. The match had other plans.

The first turning point came on 13 minutes. Zenit won a penalty, Luis Henrique stepped up, and I framed the keeper and the striker in the same plane, finger ready on the shutter. He missed. From that moment the storyline tilted. On 31 minutes Zakhar Fedorov put Sochi ahead, and suddenly I was photographing something far more interesting than a procession — a basement side leading the leaders, stunned faces in the home stands, body language shifting on the touchline. As a match photographer, that’s the kind of conflict you actually want in front of you.

The second half was a different match. Zenit pressed, and I moved to the end Sochi were defending, knowing the equaliser had to come from there. On 59 minutes Luis Henrique made up for the penalty miss and levelled it — arms wide, eyes lit up, exactly the frame you travel to a stadium for. Sochi kept hanging on, and 1-1 felt like a fair, awkward conclusion. Then, on 84, Aleksandr Erokhin arrived in the box from somewhere off-camera for most of the night and finished the move. The shutter ran in bursts, and I knew the cover image had just happened.

Final whistle, three points, and Zenit stay top with 65 from 29 — Krasnodar two behind with a game in hand, so the title race is very much alive. Sochi leave 16th on 21 points, but they made the leaders sweat for it. Nights like this are why I love sports photography in Saint Petersburg: the script you expect almost never survives kick-off.

See the full gallery with the best moments from Zenit vs Sochi here: Zenit vs Sochi.