Gent sink Zenit to reach last 16

Danijel Milicevic scored a left-footed winner 12 minutes from time to secure the points for Ghent after Laurent Depoitre had put them ahead at halftime, only for Artem Dzyuba to equalise in the 65th minute.

Ghent matched the achievement of Anderlecht in the 2000-01 season by finishing second in the group, ending with 10 points behind Zenit who amassed 15.

Depoitre, recently capped for the first time by Belgium, headed the home team ahead in the 18th minute, connecting powerfully with Moses Simon's cross after rising above Zenit's Belgian international defender Nicolas Lombaerts, who had began his career at Ghent a decade ago.

Depoitre should have had a second just after the half-hour mark when a stray back pass from Luis Neto fell perfectly for the centre forward to run onto but as he bore down on the goalkeeper an outstretched leg from Yuri Lodygin rescued Zenit.

There were several occasions in both halves where Ghent's defending looked nervy and ultimately it saw them cede their lead when the failure by both Sven Kums and Lasse Nielsen to clear an innocuous-looking cross set up Dzyuba.

It was the sixth goal in the group phase for the Russian international.

Yet the crowd at the Ghent Stadium exploded back into life once more when the Swiss-born Milicevic restored the lead.