TEHRAN – Iranian forward of Zenit St Petersburg Sardar Azmoun scored against Chelsea in a pulsating 3-3 draw in Group H of the UEFA Champions League.
The result left Chelsea second on 13 points from six games, two behind group winner Juventus who leapt into pole position thanks to a 1-0 home win over Sweden’s Malmo.
Zenit finished in third place and will participate in Europa League after the winter break.
Chelsea made a perfect start as Timo Werner fired the team ahead in the second minute with a tap-in after a Ross Barkley corner was nodded into his path.
Brazilian forward Claudinho levelled in the 38th with a glancing header into the far corner after his compatriot Douglas Santos swung in a cross past a static visiting defense.
Rattled by the equalizer, Chelsea fell behind three minutes later when Iranian forward Azmoun beat the offside trap from Malcom’s fine through ball and slotted home after rounding goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Romelu Lukaku hit back in the 62nd minute as he stroked the ball into an empty net after a flowing move and Chelsea seemed to have forced the final twist after Werner struck again in the 85th thanks to more crisp-one touch passing.
The move left Zenit’s defense bedazzled with Christian Pulisic delivering the final pass to Werner, who fired in a snap shot from 10 meters after side-stepping his marker.
The Premier League side was undone, however, by a spectacular equalizer at the death as it failed to clear a cross and Magomed Ozdoev unleashed an unstoppable volley into the top corner from the edge of the penalty area.