Cernat sees Dynamo through

FC Dynamo Kyiv 1 PFC Levski Sofia 0 (Dynamo win 2-0 on aggregate)
Romanian international midfield player Florin Cernat secured FC Dynamo Kyiv’s place in the UEFA Champions League first group stage with a second-half winner against Bulgarians PFC Levski Sofia tonight.

Colossal Cernat
Having scored the only goal of the first leg in Sofia, Cernat was undisputedly the player of this third qualifying round tie, breaking the deadlock three minutes before the break after an inch-perfect pass from Uzbekistani forward Maksim Shatskikh.

Missed penalty
Shatskikh should have been on the score sheet in the second half but spurned a great opportunity when it looked easier to score. But in the end it mattered little as Levski forward Gueorgui Chilikov wasted his side's best chance after failing to beat goalkeeper Vitaliy Reva from the spot on 69 minutes.

'Real battles'
Dynamo coach Olexiy Mykhaylicheno praised the superiority of his team. "The Champions League is a special tournament and the two matches were real battles," he said. "I am very glad that in both cases we were stronger." But he warned that Dynamo would have to be at their best in the next phase: "This is no time for us to relax - we will have to fight in each game to get the best possible result."

Philosophical Muslin
Levski coach Slavoljub Muslin did his best to remain philosophical. "I am, of course, not satisfied that we lost but our opponents were very effective and we played as well as we could," he said.

Sixth qualification
The victory ensured Dynamo, who have had ten senior players sidelined through injury since May, qualified for the Champions League first group stage for the sixth consecutive time.