Chelsea unlucky, settle for goalless draw in Ukraine

KIEV, Ukraine (Kurdistan24) – Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea failed to score in their UEFA Champions League encounter with Ukrainian club Dynamo Kiev, settling for a 0-0 draw on Tuesday night.

The English side sought to get their Champions League campaign back on track after their 2-1 defeat to Portuguese club FC Porto in the previous game week, on September 29.

Chelsea has not reached the heights of their previous season where they were crowned Barclays Premier League Champions but were still favorite to seal a victory against their Ukrainian opponents.

Mourinho reinstated forward Eden Hazard into the starting eleven after the Belgian was left on the bench in Chelsea’s 2-0 home win over Premier League opponents Aston Villa over the weekend.

The Portuguese made several other changes, reintroducing defensive midfielder Nemanja Matic and moving central defender Kurt Zouma to right-back in place of the injured Branislav Ivanovic.

Chelsea started with real intent, and were on the attack almost immediately after the referee blew his whistle to signal the start of the match. Cesc Fabregas was the first Chelsea player to test 40-year-old Dynamo Kiev goalkeeper Olexandr Shovkovskiy from a distance, before Hazard’s curling effort was tipped onto the post by the fingertips of Shovkovskiy moments later.

Dynamo’s best chance fell to Vitaly Buyalsky inside twelve minutes after a great cross-field pass from the pacey Andriy Yarmolenko to Derlis Gonzalez. Buyalsky’s shot was vicious but straight at Asmir Begovic who collected comfortably.

Chelsea were convinced that they should have been awarded a penalty in the sixteenth minute after Fabregas was brought down inside the box. The Spaniard was furious with the referee’s decision but was forced to play on. Video replays confirmed that Fabregas was in fact brought down unfairly.

Moments later, Chelsea were on the attack again, this time Diego Costa was inches away from connecting with a whipping Willian free- kick.

Buyalsky had another chance to put his side ahead on the counter-attack, but his effort was blocked by the foot of Chelsea captain John Terry. The teams went into the break level, with Chelsea unlucky not to have been ahead after hitting the post and having a valid penalty claim denied.

Within twenty seconds of the restart, The Blues were awarded a free-kick in a dangerous position just outside Dynamo Kiev’s penalty box. Willian stepped up, beating the wall and goalkeeper, but watched agonisingly as his effort smashed off the crossbar.

Chelsea continued to push forward, and always looked dangerous on the counter-attack, with Fabregas and Hazard both coming close to breaking the deadlock.

Gonzalez and Vida both had chances to put their side ahead, as Dynamo remained patient, but couldn’t produce the finish. Yarmolenko and Gonzalez were linking up well for the Ukrainian outfit and looked Chelsea’s biggest threat.

The in-form Willian had Chelsea’s last chance of the match in the last minute, but could not find the net with his curling shot that just missed the target.

Dynamo Kiev proved a stubborn opponent for the English side, but Chelsea will lament their luck on a night where they should have probably flown home with all three points.

The Blues welcome Dynamo Kiev to Stamford Bridge in England in game week four of the Champions League group stages on November 4. Chelsea currently sits third in Group G with four points, one behind second-place Dynamo Kiev, and three behind group leaders FC Porto who beat their opponents Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-0.