Milik at the double as Napoli recover to beat Dynamo Kyiv

Arkadiusz Milik scored two first-half headers as Napoli came from behind to take the Group B spoils in Ukraine.

Dynamo Kyiv coach Serhiy Rebrov looked set for a dream night as two surprise selections combined for a lovely opener, Denys Garmash lashing in following a cushioned header from 18-year-old Viktor Tsygankov.

Napoli summer signing Milik turned the game on its head before the break, though, with a pair of opportunistic headers over the stranded Olexandr Shovkovskiy.

Dynamo gamely sought an equaliser, but a second booking for Serhiy Sydorchuk midway through the second period ended their ambitions.

Key Player: Arkadiusz Milik
"What a magical night it was for me, perfect for Napoli. We'll go back to Italy with smiles on our faces." It was impossible to argue with Milik's assessment. The departure of Gonzalo Higuaín this summer left a chasm in the Napoli squad but they have bought shrewdly and, in the young Polish international, they might just have struck gold again.

Dynamo celebrate after going 1-0 up©AFP/Getty Images

No Plan B for Dynamo
That second goal on the stroke of half-time was a killer blow for Dynamo as they really struggled to swing the momentum. Despite putting more emphasis on possession-based football in the second half, they were still dependent on one main channel: the right wing and Andriy Yarmolenko. He was the architect of Dynamo's goal and in general carried most of the threat for Dynamo; Napoli simply doubled up on him.

UEFA.com team reporter's view

Bogdan Buga, Dynamo Kyiv (@UEFAcomBogdanB)
A 'goal in the dressing room' and a red card for Sydorchuk early in the second half were too much for Dynamo, who battled hard, fought until the end but were unable to salvage anything from the game. A home defeat in their first match – what could be worse for a team not considered favourites in the group? But it's far from over. Dynamo showed quality, they showed potential in 18-year old Tsygankov, and they showed character.

Reaction

Arkadiusz Milik at full stretch in Kyiv©AFP/Getty Images

Serhiy Rebrov, Dynamo coach
It's a disappointing result and now we have to analyse our mistakes. However, we have to take the positives because all the players showed great commitment and worked really hard. We tried to stay compact and keep our shape but after we scored our guys probably tried to protect the result and that was a mistake. Napoli knew how to play against us; they got the ball wide and put in good crosses. They created spaces behind our defenders and used them effectively.

Maurizio Sarri, Napoli coach
I wasn't nervous but the players felt the effect of the Champions League and we made more technical errors than normally. But we got a positive result and we're happy about that. We were focused on getting a win here and we did it. All the players did very well; we were definitely the better side, but what I liked most after the game in our dressing room is that all players agreed we could play even better and could have won by a larger margin.