Russia move 1-0 past Finland to seal first victory at Euro 2020

BERLIN -- Russia's Aleksey Miranchuk scored the only goal of the game and ensured Finland's first loss in Group B at the Saint Petersburg Stadium on Wednesday.

It was a stiff piece of work for the "Sbornaja" as Finland caught a fairy tale start in front of 34,067 spectators as Joel Pohjanpalo headed a cross past Russia goalkeeper Matvei Safonov with 180 seconds into the game. However, Pohjanpalo's opener was flagged offside by the video assistant referee.

Russia responded with furious attacks and had a big chance to break the deadlock but for all that Magomed Ozdoev wasted Miranchuk's build-up work and pulled over the target from seven meters with 10 minutes gone.

The "Sbornaja" dominated possession, yet the spectators had to wait until the injury time of the first half before Russia eventually found a moment of inspiration after Artyom Dzyuba traded passes with Miranchuk, who curled the opener into the far roof of the net.

After the half time, Russia started where they left off and pressed Finland on the back foot.

Even though Russia controlled the proceedings on the pitch they weren't able to turn their dominance into goals. Daler Kuzyaev unleashed a well-placed effort, but Hradecky was equal to the shot and dived to make a one-handed safe in the 72nd minute.

The Russian continued wasteful as Rifat Zhemaletdinov sent his shot over the crossbar following a promising solo run into the box in the closing stages.

"We defended well and going forward we improved on our display against Denmark. We didn't manage to score but we had good situations: some shots that went narrowly wide, others were blocked. It was a really close game," said Finland head coach Markku Kanerva.

"At this stage, the victory was most important. We have completed the task and are moving on. Have we missed a lot of chances? That's football. It is important that we are creating chances," said Russia attacking midfielder Miranchuk.

With the result, Belgium (3 points) continue atop the standings in Group B followed by Finland (3 points) Russia (3 points) and Denmark (0 points). On Monday, Finland host front runners Belgium while Russia meet winless Denmark.