The Bianconeri won the match, after a free kick goal by Alessandro Del Piero.
“We won against a very awkward side,” Ranieri told Sky Italia.
“I liked Del Piero’s goal and the victory. It was not easy at all as we played a team in good form who are way ahead of us in terms of fitness.
“Compliments to Zenit, they are a good team with quality and they put us in difficulty with five midfielders and three attackers but we did well to make it tough for them.
“We knew about Zenit’s strengths, they didn’t win the UEFA Cup or beat Manchester United just like that. Our group is complicated and it was important to win.”
