Dynamo Kyiv and Chelsea play out goalless draw
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
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Dynamo Kyiv 0-0 Chelsea
The visitors struck a post and the bar but could not find the goal that would have lifted them above their second-placed opponents in Group G.
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- Nothing to separate Dynamo Kyiv and Chelsea at the NSK Olimpiyskyi
- Eden Hazard strikes a post for Chelsea in the first half
- The lively Willian rattles the crossbar with a free-kick after the break
- Chelsea stay third, a point behind their second-placed opponents
- The teams reconvene at Stamford Bridge on 4 November
Chelsea remain a point behind second-placed Dynamo Kyiv in UEFA Champions League Group G after the teams drew 0-0 in Ukraine.
José Mourinho's side hit the woodwork at the NSK Olimpiyskyi through Eden Hazard and Willian but will feel confident of going one better when the clubs meet in England, where Dynamo have never won, in a fortnight. That match has assumed greater importance for Chelsea after FC Porto took charge of the section by beating Maccabi Tel-Aviv.
The Hazard shot, an effort against Olexandr Shovkovskiy's far post, was the highlight of a bright opening by the 2012 winners. Willian was also to the fore, delivering a free-kick from a wide position – like he has to good effect in the Premier League in recent weeks – that whistled narrowly past Shovkovskiy's left-hand upright.
The Blues were on the front foot, taking the game to their opponents, epitomised by Nemanja Matić's bustling run midway through the first half. His surge took him past several players and into the penalty box, where his composure deserted him, the Serbian international prodding wide with the goal at his mercy.
Dynamo were not without their moments, however, the best of them before the break coming when Vitaliy Buyalskiy's drive from the edge of the area was deflected over by John Terry. In the main, though, it was the Londoners who offered the greater threat until late in the game, Willian rattling the frame of the goal two minutes after the restart with a free-kick that bounced down off the bar.
Derlis González, conspicuous by his pink boots, served the visitors a warning on the break by testing Asmir Begović at his near post. Domagoj Vida then fired over as Serhiy Rebrov's men began to grow in belief. A spell of late Dynamo pressure yielded nothing, meaning it is as you were for these sides heading into the return fixture on 4 November.
