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Champions League | Round-Of-16
Mar 15, 2016 at 7.45pm UK
 
Dynamo Kiev

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Live Commentary: Manchester City 0-0 Dynamo Kiev - as it happened

Sports Mole provides live text commentary of the Champions League last-16 second leg between Manchester City and Dynamo Kiev.
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Manchester City have sealed a quarter-final place in the Champions League for the first time in their history after coming through a goalless draw against Dynamo Kiev at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night.

The last-16 tie was already won for Manuel Pellegrini and his men as they sealed a 3-1 victory in Ukraine almost three weeks ago.

Discover how the match, which included just four shots on target, unfolded in Sports Mole's text commentary below.


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So, there we have it. City have made it through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time in the club's history! It's a big feat for the English side, but it wasn't exactly a vintage performance from Pellegrini's side! It was a goalless affair against Dynamo Kiev at the Etihad, but the job was already done in Ukraine when City won 3-1. Thanks for joining us, and until next time, goodbye!

FULL-TIME: MAN CITY 0-0 DYNAMO KIEV

We are one minute into four minutes added time. I'd say it's job done for City!

SAVE! A great stop from Hart! A lovely back heel into the box finds Buyalskyy, who shoots from the edge of the box and is denied by Hart, who comes off his line and makes the block.

CHANCE! Very close for Dynamo! The ball is whipped into the box and it falls to Yarmolenko, who has a free header, but he misses the target as the ball bounces wide. Even if he had scored, though, it would not have counted due to the offside flag.

MAN CITY SUB: Pellegrini makes his final change as Sterling comes on for Silva.

Some lovely skill from Aguero! The Argentine shows silky footwork to break away from his marker before sending a through ball to Silva, but the goalkeeper manages to come off his line and get to the ball first.

It's been all City pressure in the last 10 minutes or so, but Dynamo try to cause trouble as Vida whips in a cross, but it's too far for his teammate and Zabaleta hits it out for a corner, which comes to nothing.

SAVE! Toure forces the keeper into making a stop with a low drilled effort from the edge of the box. The midfielder is well placed when he receives the cut-back from Navas, but the keeper drops to the ground and stops the ball from nestling into the centre of the net.

We're 70 minutes in and there have been just two shots on target! You have to question Dynamo's approach to this game. It was a big ask at the start of the match to cut down City's 3-1 lead, but they have not looked like a side fighting for an upset. There are 20 minutes left, though, so we'll see if anything changes!

DYNAMO KIEV SUBS: A handful of changes for the visiting side as Garmash and Husyev make way for Sydorchuk and Lakovenko.

Dynamo create a half chance as Yarmolenko dribbles through his opponents before unleashing a low shot, but it goes straight into Hart's hands.

OFF THE POST! Toure is involved again as he breaks away from his marker and plays the ball forward to Navas, who thumps a shot across the keeper, whose beaten, but the ball bounces off the left post.

CHANCE! City's best play of the evening! Silva plays a short pass to Aguero, who, with his first touch, knocks it across to Toure, who then plays the return ball over the top. The Argentine brings it down and then fizzes it across the face of goal. City are getting a bit closer!

Toure lines up the free kick and as expected goes for goal. He gets it over the wall, but his effort misses the target and ends up curling away from the left-hand post.

Aguero shows some urgency by surging through the midfield and getting past three players before getting clipped by Garmash, who receives a yellow card for his tackle.

There's another break in play as Dragovic seeks medical treatment after clashing with Aguero. He's limping but seems okay to continue. The challenge came to prevent Aguero from latching onto the ball on the edge of the box.

BT Sport's co-commentator for tonight's game, Robbie Savage, has just likened this match to one you might see in League One! You can tell he's enjoying it...

Some quick thinking needed from Dynamo's goalkeeper! City are on the attack and it's Toure leading the charge. The Ivorian sends a low cross towards Silva, who is stood on the edge of the area, but Garmash gets there first and kicks it back to his keeper, who nervously kicks it away instead of catching it due to fears of a back pass.

DYNAMO KIEV SUB: The visiting side have made a change as Teodroczyk makes way for Gonzalez. Very bizarre that they have opted to take off their central striker!

RESTART! Dynamo get the second half underway! Fingers crossed for goals!

The referee blows his whistle for half time and I think everyone in the stadium will be pleased! It has not been a goalfest as some people suggested. Neither side have had a meaningful shot on target. Considering Dynamo are 3-1 done, it's surprising that they have not shown as much urgency as expected. For City, well, it's just not clicking at the moment, and they were dealt a double injury blow when defenders Vincent Kompany and Nicolas Otamendi suffered injuries within the first 25 minutes. Hopefully we'll have a more entertaining second half! We'll return shortly.

HALF-TIME: MAN CITY 0-0 DYNAMO KIEV

City almost create an opportunity! Fernandinho sends a through ball towards Silva, but the keeper comes off his line and manages to grab it before the Spaniard can get on the end of it for a shot.

Well, that sums up City's first half! The home side go on the break and the ball is eventually played out to Navas on the right. The winger tries to feed the ball forward to Aguero on the overlap, but his touch is too heavy and the ball trickles behind the line for a goal kick.

Aguero tries to make things happen for the home side as he bursts down the eight channel, taking on Dynamo's defence. The Argentine eventually unleashes a shot at goal, but it drags wide.

Hart is alert again! The ball is swung into the box by Gusev, but the goalkeeper is there to punch away just in time before at opponent gets on the end of it. The City keeper has been the busier of the two in this half.

Oh dear. Mangala could have been left red faced there! The substitute tries to smash the ball clear while out of position as Veloso is charging him down. It ends up bouncing off the Kiev player and into Yarmolenko's path, but the forward's return ball lets him down.

Silva tries to latch on to Toure's high ball. The Spaniard gets a slight touch, but his overstretched leg fails to create enough power to threaten the keeper.

Kiev get a free kick in a dangerous area. Huysev whips it in and Hart tracks the flight of the ball and is able to punch clear.

Well, this has not been the most thrilling of ties so far! We're creeping towards the half-hour mark and it has been rather uneventful. Neither side have managed to cause much trouble in the final third. In truth, the overall performance has been bang average! Hopefully that will improve soon...

MAN CITY SUB: It's the end of Otamendi's evening as the City man is replaced with Demichelis. Bad news for the home side as they lost both of their central defenders within 25 minutes.

BOOKING! Antunes is the next man in the book for a tackle on Navas.

Dynamo cause some danger as a perfectly-weighted ball is whipped into the area searching for Teodorczyk. The ball bounces in front of Hart, who reacts quickly to punch away from danger, but the play is halted as Teodorczyk is offside.

BOOKING! Otamendi goes into the book because he returned to the pitch too early after receiving medical treatment. Yes, really...

Silva, Aguero and Clichy link up on the edge of the area and the ball is eventually played back to Toure, who sends it over the top to Zabaleta. The full-back heads it down towards the middle of the box, but it's cleared.

We have two players down here! Otamendi and Buyalskyy are receiving treatment after colliding. Ideally, City don't want to be two substitutes down with just a quarter of an hour gone. It looks as though both players will continue, though.

At the other end, Clichy lifts a cross into the box. Fernandinho gets a slight nick on it but it's headed behind the line for a corner. Silva sends the ball in from the flag, but it's easily cleared by the visitors.

Buyalskyi finds some space in City's half and charges towards the edge of the area, but he is unable to feed the ball through as sky blue shirts swarm around him and snuff out the danger.

MAN CITY SUB: Kompany trudges off the pitch to a sympathetic round of applause from the home fans. Mangala comes on to replace him.

You have to feel for the centre-back. It was clear on his face that he would not be able to shake it off and continue. Kompany has spent the majority of the season out injured and it looks as though he could face another spell on the sidelines with a hamstring problem.

Oh dear! It looks like Kompany is injured, again! The defender has pulled up and he knows instantly that he needs to get off the pitch.

City begin on the frontfoot and work the ball around Kiev's penalty area. Clichy storms down the left-hand side trying to get past his markers. He manages to get a cross away, but it's overhit and none of his teammates are there to meet it.

KICKOFF! City get us underway at the Etihad! Ovoid Hategan is the referee for this one.

Right, both teams are on the pitch and the Champions League anthem is blasting out from the speakers. We're moments away from kickoff!

HEAD TO HEAD: There is not much of a rich history between these two as they have only played one another four times competitively. The pair met in the 2010-11 Europa League campaign, with both sides winning on home turf. Dynamo came out on top overall, though, as they won 2-0 in Kiev and City earned a 1-0 triumph in Manchester.

One man that Pellegrini will be hoping can edge him closer to Champions League glory is Aguero. The striker has scored 12 times since the start of 2016, but he has struggled to find the back of the net lately. The Argentine has netted just two goals in his last six matches.

As mentioned, City's drop in the title race may push them even further to win the Champions League, but there is another reason - Pellegrini's departure. As we all know, the Chilean will be leaving City at the end of the season to make way for Pep Guardiola, and what better way than to make his send-off with a Champions League winners' medal?

"Of course, if you have to leave at the end of the season the best way to leave is winning titles," Pellegrini told reporters earlier this week. "But if I was continuing next year I would also have the same desire for the club to be as high as they can.

"For me, leaving at the end of the season and not leaving at the end of the season are exactly the same. I feel the same responsibility, the same desire to continue further in the Champions League.

"So I don't think that one thing is linked with the other one. It doesn't matter what happens at the end of the season."

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini celebrates winning the League Cup on February 28, 2016© Getty Images


City were outplayed by Leicester when the two sides met on February 6 and they were forced to accept a 3-1 defeat. A 2-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur and a 3-0 hammering from Liverpool came next for Pellegrini's side. After beating Villa, City took on relegation battlers Norwich City, but they struggled to find a breakthrough and were restricted to a goalless draw at Carrow Road.

They have lost ground in the Premier League title race as they are currently fourth in the table, 12 points behind leaders Leicester City. They have dropped behind the pack because they have only won one of their last five league matches and that was a 4-0 triumph over bottom-of-the-table Aston Villa.

Dynamo secured back-to-back wins in their final two group matches - a 2-0 victory over Porto and a 1-0 win over Maccabi, which helped them seal a place in the knockout rounds. They are also on a decent run in their domestic league as they have won their last seven games on the bounce. It is not as positive for City though...

They had a more routine win in their next outing as they sealed a 2-0 triumph over Maccabi Tel Aviv and they were able to restrict Chelsea in Ukraine to a goalless draw. When they visited Stamford Bridge, though, it was a different story. Aleksandar Dragovic made amends for his 34th-minute own goal by finding an equaliser in the 77th minute, but Willian stepped up for Chelsea and scored the winner seven minutes from time.

As for Dynamo's Champions League campaign, well, they were progressed past the group stage with Chelsea, who were knocked out by Paris Saint-Germain last week. Rebrov's side began their journey with a 2-2 draw against Porto on home turf. Dynamo had a 1-0 lead for 23 minutes, but by the 81st minute they were 2-1 down. With just one minute of normal time on the clock, Buyalskyy struck to salvage an important point.

There always seems to be a cloud of doubt over City when it comes to competing in Europe due to previous seasons, but they hit back at the critics in the first leg of their last-16 tie in Ukraine. Aguero opened the scoring in the 15th minute and David Silva doubled their lead five minutes from half time. There was a cause for concern when Vitaliy Buyalskyy pulled one goal back for Dynamo, but City weathered the storm and Yaya Toure wrapped it up with a goal in the 90th minute. The performance from Pellegrini's men indicated that they are capable of competing on the European stage.

Juventus proved to be a difficult test for City as they were beaten again by the Italian side, but this time in Turin, with Mario Mandzukic's 18th-minute goal the only thing to separate them. City rounded off their group campaign with a 4-2 win over Monchengladbach and impressively won four of their six games. The only downside is that they conceded a goal in every one of those fixtures.

The loss happened on home turf, but they managed to bounce back away to Borussia Monchengladbach. Pellegrini's side went 1-0 down in the 54th minute but goals from Martin Demichelis and Sergio Aguero ensured that all three points went back to Manchester. The team came from behind yet again in their next match at home to Sevilla, and the winner was scored by Kevin De Bruyne in the 91st minute. The return fixture in Spain was another pleasing one for City as they recorded a 3-1 win and their third straight Champions League triumph.

Now that the teams are sorted, let's take a look at how City got to this stage. In recent seasons, the two-time Premier League winners have struggled to spark much electricity in Europe. As mentioned, the team have never gone further than the last-16 round and it was feared that this season's campaign could be doomed when they suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Juventus in their opening group-stage match.


As for the visiting side, manager Rebrov has made three changes to the side that hosted City in the first leg. Vitorino Antunes comes into the defence, while Miguel Veloso and Oleh Husyev come into the midfield. As expected Andriy Yarmolenko, who has been widely linked to Everton, will provide attacking threat alongside Lukasz Teodorczyk.

Sergio Aguero will lead the line on his own, with Jesus Navas, David Silva and Toure sitting behind him. Fernando and Fernandinho will line the middle of the park, while Vincent Kompany, Nicolas Otamendi, Gael Clichy and Zabaleta sit in front of goalkeeper Joe Hart.

Let's begin with the City team, shall we? Pellegrini has made two changes to the side that played out a goalless draw against Norwich at the weekend. As expected, Yaya Toure returns to the fold after missing the last game with a heel injury, while Pablo Zabaleta comes into the defence. Wilfried Bony and Bacary Sagna are the pair to miss out, and with that, comes a formation change.

DYNAMO KIEV XI: Shovkovsky; Vida, Khacheridi, Dragovic, Antunes; Veloso, Husyev, Buyalskyy, Garmash; Yarmolenko, Teodorczyk

MAN CITY XI: Hart; Zabaleta, Kompany, Otamendi, Clichy; Fernando, Fernandinho; Navas, Toure, Silva; Aguero
Subs: Caballero, Kolarov, Mangala, Demichelis, M.Garcia, Sterling, Bony

I am sure you are all eagerly awaiting the team news, so let's bring you the lineups...

As for Dynamo, they have a big task on their hands if they are to stop City from grabbing a spot in the final eight. They are already 3-1 down and have not won any of their last 10 visits to England. The positive, though, is that Serhiy Rebrov's side are unbeaten in their last three games in all competitions.

City have never progressed further than the last-16 stage in this European competition, but barring a shock result tonight, they will be in the quarter-finals. Manuel Pellegrini's side have a 3-1 lead from the first leg in the Ukraine, meaning that the visitors need to win by three or more goals in order to boot City out. Given that City's Premier League campaign is wavering, the Champions League may be their best chance of major silverware.

Evening all! It is a crucial night of Champions League action as four teams learn their European fate. All of them are vying for a place in the quarter-finals, but only two can progress. Atletico Madrid and PSV Eindhoven will go head to head for a final-eight spot, but right here, we will take you through Manchester City's last-16 second leg against Dynamo Kiev at the Etihad Stadium.

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Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini celebrates winning the League Cup on February 28, 2016
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