Leverkusen climbed on top of group C thanks to two second-half goals, beating Zenit Saint Petersburg 2-0 in UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.

The "Werkself" needed one half to get their offense going, as Giulio Donati opened the scoring at the second half before substitute Kyriakos Papadopoulos doubled the lead to seal the deal. The hosts had to complete the game with 10-men as Wendell was sent off for his second bookable offense late on in the game.

Both sides neutralized their actions in the first half nevertheless Hakan Calhanoglu was able to create the first noteworthy chance of the first half when he forced Zenit goalkeeper Juri Lodigin to make a save at the 40th minute.

Leverkusen's promising chance seemed to be a wakening call for the visitors from Russia that responded through Hulk, whose long- range effort went just wide a minute later.

Things changed after the restart as Leverkusen broke the deadlock with 13 minutes into the second half. Leverkusen's Giulio Donati opened the scoring with a right-footed shot from 23 meters into the bottom right.

The hosts utilized their momentum and doubled the lead through Kyriakos Papadopoulos, who was fielded three minutes earlier to head home a free kick by Calhanoglu at the 63rd minute.

Leverkusen controlled the proceedings on the pitch because Zenit posed no threat for the host's well-positioned defense. However, Wendell weakened his side after seeing his second yellow card of the game, allowing Zenit to create two promising chances by Hulk in the closing period.

With the result Leverkusen climb atop the standings of group C with six points out of three games. Monaco sit on second with five points followed by Zenit Saint Petersburg with four point and Benfica with one point.

"It was an intense game for my team but they kept the pace over 90 minutes and got rewarded," Leverkusen coach Roger Schmidt said.

Zenit Saint Petersburg hosts Bayer Leverkusen at the fourth round of Champions League in two weeks.