Rangers' hopes of a first European trophy in 36 years were crushed as Zenit St Petersburg claimed the UEFA Cup tonight.

Walter Smith's men had endured an epic journey which saw them play no fewer than 18 European games to come this far only to fall at the final hurdle at the hands of the Russian champions.

Goals from Igor Denisov and Konstantin Zyrianov proved to be the difference between the two sides, with Dick Advocaat triumphing over his former club, who had hoped to claim an historic quadruple this season.

After the frenzy of the build-up to the UEFA Cup final, the only danger was that the match itself would be an anti-climax.

There were more Rangers fans outside than inside the City of Manchester Stadium, watching on three giant screens in the city centre but atmosphere was electric and Walter Smith's side continued their quest to become the first Scottish side to life the UEFA Cup, not to mention an amazing quadruple haul of trophies.

Smith fielded the same starting line-up as began the semi-final second leg against Fiorentina, but this time Lee McCulloch and Charles Adam won places on the bench instead of Thomas Buffel and the suspended Daniel Cousin.

Zenit coach Dick Advocaat had striker Pavel Pogrebnyak, the leading scorer in the competition, suspended but he did have Andrei Arshavin - the Russian international who played a major role in England's Euro 2008 qualifying defeat back in October - back from a ban.

Advocaat made two other changes against his old side with Fatih Tekke and Radek Sirl starting. Former Rangers defender Fernando Ricksen was among the substitutes.

The clash of style looked to be intriguing with Zenit having beaten Bayern Munich 5-1 on aggregate in the semi-final, while Rangers won a penalty shoot-out against the Italians after both legs had finished goalless.

Fears of another dreary European encounter were swept away by a vibrant start to the match with both sides threatening to score.

Zenit showed their attacking menace in only the fourth minute when the Russians' skipper Anatoliy Tymoschuk broke up a passing move involving Barry Ferguson and Kevin Thomson and put Arshavin through on the left.

It looked ominous for Rangers but although the striker caught his shot well he only found the side-netting.

Tymoschuk then drilled in a low shot from very long range but goalkeeper Neil Alexander dealt with it comfortably.

Jean-Claude Darcheville, again handed the task of ploughing a lone furrow up front by Smith, responded strongly with a forceful run into the Zenit box and squared the ball for Ferguson only for Ivica Krizanac to pull off an excellent interception.

The Russians continued to look dangerous, however, and Sirl's direct free-kick from 30 yards out skipped off the turf in front of Alexander but he was able to hold on.

Tekke was next to surge forward and threaten but Rangers were back in numbers to block his drive.

Aleksandr Anyukov struck a rising drive that troubled Alexander but he managed to cling on at the second attempt before Sasa Papac caused groans among the Rangers faithful with a wasteful slice into the crowd after weaving his way down the left flank.

Steven Whittaker interrupted the flow of one-way traffic with a looping header but it dropped over the crossbar without testing Vyacheslav Malafeev in the Zenit goal.

Tekke tried to dribble through but found a blue wall of six Rangers players in his way and although he went past two, the third stopped him.

Three minutes before the break, quick thinking by Ferguson led to Darcheville winning a free-kick in dangerous territory but Thomson hit it straight into the wall.

Papac's follow-up effort after Malafeev had punched out was miles off target.

The Russian side were well on top in the first half and had enjoyed the majority of the chances but as in the previous rounds, Walter Smith's side kept their goal intact.

The game was drifting towards stalemate when Rangers came close to taking the lead after a chaotic goalmouth scramble in the 53rd minute. First of all Steven Davis played in Darcheville whose first-time shot was only parried by Malafeev.

Ferguson followed up and in the ensuing melee claimed the ball had struck Igor Denisov's hand, but Swedish referee Peter Frojdfeldt was unmoved.

The incident seemed to open the game up and Brahmin Hemdani cut inside two challenges before hitting a low shot that was deflected just past the post.

At the other end Arshavin came the closest so far to breaking the deadlock after beating Alexander to a ball over the top and leaving the Rangers keeper in no-man's land.

The Scottish fans held their breath as the Russian striker lifted the ball over the retreating David Weir but Papac was perfectly placed to head off the line and spare his keeper's blushes.

When the breakthrough came after 72 minutes Arshavin was instrumental in the opening goal, playing a one-two with Denisov who raced into the box before slotting home from eight yards, leaving Alexander with no chance.

Zyrianov almost doubled the advantage within a few minutes when his shot smacked off the woodwork, before Rangers swapped Papac for Novo in a bid to haul themselves back into the game. Lee McCulloch, back from injury, was then thrown into the action for Hemdani with ten minutes to go.

With time rapidly running out, Rangers' last throw of the dice came in the shape of substitute Kris Boyd but it was Darcheville and Novo who both squandered late chances to force the game into extra-time.

Instead, Zyrianov had the ball in the back of the net in injury-time to wrap up the win as Zenit claimed their first European trophy.