De Jong at the double as Twente down Zenit

Luuk de Jong scored twice as FC Twente established a commanding 3-0 advantage in their UEFA Europa League round of 16 first leg against FC Zenit St Petersburg.

The Dutch side took a one-goal lead into the interval as De Jong rose to head in after 25 minutes and the striker repeated the trick in added time after Denny Landzaat had fired in the second goal for the Dutch champions 11 minutes after the restart.

Michel Preud'homme's men had overcome Russian opposition in the previous round with a 4-2 aggregate victory over FC Rubin Kazan and they quickly set about causing Premier-Liga titleholders Zenit problems in Enschede. The visitors were the leading scorers in the competition coming into the game yet they spurned the early chances that came their way with Danny profligate twice.

De Jong showed them how with the opening goal as the Tukkers broke to devastating effect. The scheming Theo Janssen galloped from his own half before releasing Nacer Chadli down the right, with his cross perfect for De Jong to tower above Zenit captain Aleksandr Anyukov and nod down and into the corner.

Both teams carried a threat throughout the match although it was the hosts who showed greater composure in front of goal as they doubled their advantage after 56 minutes. Janssen's free-kick was only cleared to the edge of the box and Landzaat fired it back beyond goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev with the aid of a slight deflection.

Having drawn all four home fixtures in Europe this term, Twente were determined not to relinquish their lead and they left Zenit with a momentous task in next Thursday's return with a late third goal. Janssen was again the architect, driving a cross in from the left touchline with De Jong this time leaving Aleksandar Luković in his wake before heading in from close range.