MANCHESTER, England, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Russian champions Zenit St. Petersburg lifted its first European trophy after beating Scotland's Glasgow Rangers 2-0 in the UEFA Cup final on Wednesday. The Russians enjoyed plenty of possession but could not find ways into Rangers' packed defense until 18 minutes from time.

Igor Denisov played a neat one-two with Andrei Arshavin before firing home and Konstatin Zyryanov sealed victory with a close range effort in stoppage time at the City of Manchester stadium.

"Winning a prize like this does not come often in your life," said Zenit's Dutch manager Dick Advocaat. "I'm very proud for Zenit that we have won."

"I think we deserved this victory. Hopefully this is the start of something for Russian football."

It was only the second Russian side that had won a European trophy following CSKA Moscow's UEFA cup triumph in 2005.

But their victory ended Rangers' dream of repeating their 1972 Cup-Winners' Cup success and left tens of thousands of Scottish fans heartbroken.

Officials expected 100,000 Rangers supporters to have reached Manchester by game time with ticketless fans thronging the city center to watch on big screens.

"Zenit looked the more offensive team, but obviously at this stage I'm disappointed to have lost," said Rangers' manager Walter Smith.

"We've had a terrific tournament. In the end, I can have no complaints."

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