Inter Milan’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League knock-out rounds suffered a blow as they were held to a 2-2 home draw by Dynamo Kiev.
The point leaves them bottom of Group F following Rubin Kazan’s win at Barcelona but with only one home match left.
They are without a win but still only one point off top, the position Dynamo share with both Barca and Rubin.
But that will be scant comfort for Inter boss Jose Mourinho following a pulsating contest that could have gone either way.
Dynamo were off to a flying start and Amdriy Yarmolenko should have given them the lead on three minutes but from a yard out at the back post he couldn’t adjust his feet quickly enough to turn in Artem Milevskiy’s flick-on from Gerson Magrao’s corner.
But just two minutes later they were in front as Javier Zanetti failed to clear a Magrao free-kick and Taras Mikhalik turned smartly on the edge of the box and rifled a shot in off the near post.
Inter were struggling early doors and a mistake by Cristian Chivu on the sideline let Milevskiy in behind him but Lucio was alert and diverted away his dangerous cross.
On 26min former AC Milan star Andrei Shevchenko almost got the goal he craved against his old foes but he headed just wide from an inviting Roman Eremenko cross.
Inter’s main threat was coming from Dejan Stankovic, playing alongside Wesley Sneijder behind frontman Samuel Eto’o.
Having sent one shot wide and had another beaten out by goalkeeper Stanislav Bogush he equalised on 35min, thanks to a rush of blood to Bogush’s head.
Inter hit Kiev with a quick counter as Sneijder fed the rampaging Lucio who played in Stankovic but the Serbian was still a long way from goal and Yevgen Khacheridi was in a posititon to cover his run.
Yet Bogush charged fully 10 yards from his area only to lose the race to the ball with the Serbian, who flicked it past the keeper and into the unguarded net.
But parity lasted only five minutes as Lucio headed Magrao’s corner past his own keeper after his mistake had resulted in Dynamo winning the corner.
Mourinho wasted no time in trying to fire up his team, bringing on Honduran striker David Suazo for Ghana midfielder Muntari Sulley at halftime.
And two minutes after the restart they were level again in simple fashion as Walter Samuel lost his marker and headed home Sneijder’s corner.
Inter were clearly on top and on 63min Bogush had to block a close range Eto’o volley before up the other end Lucio just nicked the ball off Milos Ninkovic’s toe to prevent him from surging through one-on-one with Julio Cesar.
Shevchenko again had the chance he craved on 73min after another Lucio blunder but this was not the clinical Sheva of old and he blasted his effort high and wide with only Julio Cesar to beat.
The goalkeeper then parried a fierce near-post Sheva free-kick on 76min.
Five minutes from time Suazo had a gilt edged chance to be a hero but he fired wide from six yards after Zanetti teed him up, before netting in injury time only to be flagged offside.
