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Porto 0 Dynamo Kiev 2: Visitors stay alive with win

SoccerNews in General Soccer News 24 Nov 2015

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Andriy Yarmolenko starred as Dynamo Kiev kept alive their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League round of 16 with an impressive 2-0 win at Porto.

Yarmolenko and Derlis Gonzalez grabbed the goals to secure the spoils at Estadio do Dragao, meaning Kiev sit two points behind joint leaders Porto and Chelsea in Group G going into the final matchday next month.

Porto entered their second match of seven in a marathon 23-day span knowing a point would secure their spot in the knockout phases with a game to spare.

Things did not go to plan during a frustrating opening half as Dynamo entered the break ahead thanks to Yarmolenko’s penalty.

The visitors then wrapped up an impressive night’s work after half-time as Gonzalez grabbed a decisive second goal thanks to an Iker Casillas error.

That leaves the group dramatically poised, with Dynamo needing to beat Maccabi Tel-Aviv and hope there is a victor in Porto’s trip to Chelsea.

The hosts began impressively and created the first opening in just the second minute as Danilo Pereira drove forward and narrowly missed the target with a powerful effort from range.

That set the tone for the early part of the game, with Yacine Brahimi next to threaten when firing over following a one-two with Giannelli Imbula.

Kiev improved significantly thereafter and would have opened the scoring were it not for Casillas.

The former Real Madrid goalkeeper produced a stunning save to keep out Gonzalez’s superb 20-yard curler.

The visitors came even closer in the 28th minute as Denys Garmash met Yarmolenko’s pin-point cross with a bullet header that cracked the inside of the post. His misfortune should have been Junior Moraes’ gain, but the striker stabbed the rebound wide after reaching the ball on the stretch.

Yet Kiev did not have to wait much longer to break the deadlock as Yarmolenko sent Casillas the wrong way from the spot after Serhiy Rybalka went down under a challenge from Imbula.

The winger continued to look the biggest threat, unleashing a powerful effort from a tight angle that Casillas tipped over.

Porto emerged from the break vastly improved and should have equalised in the 59th minute when Cristian Tello hit straight at the goalkeeper.

Similar profligacy then denied Kiev at the other end as Garmash found himself clean through following a defensive mix-up, only to see his effort easily saved by Casillas.

A crucial second would come in the 64th minute, though, when Gonzalez surged forward and unleashed an effort, Casillas inexplicably tipping the ball up into the air and over the line, leaving the hosts 2-0 down and with time running out.

Having been frustrated for much of the closing stages, Porto were almost gifted a route back into the game when Aleksandar Dragovic deflected Andre Andre’s cross-cum-shot onto the post.

And the Portuguese side’s frustration was summed up when the woodwork denied Andre again in the dying seconds, his effort deflecting on to the underside of the bar, the hosts suffering a defeat that could yet cost them a place in the round of 16.

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