ST PETERSBURG — A goal in first-half of stoppage time by Aleksei Miranchuk got Russia's Euro 2020 campaign back on track as they defeated Finland 1-0 in Group B on Wednesday.
Joel Pohjanpalo thought he had given the Finns the lead in the fifth minute but his powerful header was ruled out for offside after a VAR review, and the rest of the first half was played at a high tempo.
Joel Pohjanpalo thought he had his second goal of the tournament for Finland....
Offside pic.twitter.com/jM2BTS2mXd— International Champions Cup (@IntChampionsCup) June 16, 2021
With both sides committing players forward in attack, Miranchuk popped up just before the break to curl in a superb left-footed effort to put his side in front.
Aleksei Miranchuk, that's some Finnish! pic.twitter.com/68KOQG03bh
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) June 16, 2021
The Finns, who beat Denmark 1-0 at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen on Saturday following Christian Eriksen's on-field collapse, threw everything they had at their neighbours but struggled to hit the target as the Russians held on to win.
"Get well Christian!"
— Goal (@goal) June 16, 2021
The result moves Stanislav Cherchesov's side up to second in the standings on three points, ahead of Finland thanks to the head-to-head result. Belgium, who beat Russia 3-0 in their opener, top the group ahead of their game against Denmark on Thursday.
(Reporting by Philip O'Connor Editing by Christian Radnedge)