Shevchenko still the master

Dynamo Kiev 2 Manchester City 0:THE TEMPERATURE was several degrees below zero, Manchester City's midfield operated as if semi-frozen and Mario Balotelli departed early, feeling sick. All in all a Ukrainian night illuminated by Andriy Shevchenko proved pretty awful for Roberto Mancini's side who have much to do if they are to survive the second leg.

The disappointing Edin Dzeko especially will need to improve appreciably if he is to preserve City’s Europa League hopes by upstaging Shevchenko, his long-term hero, in Manchester. The latter’s subtle, seamless skills were behind most of Dynamo’s best moves and appropriately Svevchenko volleyed them into a first-half lead before the equally impressive Oleh Gusuv sealed victory on the night with a another, second half-volley.

By way of greeting the guests from Manchester, Dynamo’s man on the PA played Blue Moon before kick-off. If that represented a warm welcome, events on the pitch soon turned frosty. The patches of frozen snow adorning the ground’s attractive tree-lined perimeter served as a reminder that spring’s thaw comes late to Kiev and the playing surface duly appeared rock hard with no discernible give.

City made the more sure-footed opening. Overlapping with menace from their left-back, Aleksandar Kolarov, unleashed some dangerous early crosses. Kolarov is not bad at dead balls either and when Balotelli connected with his second-minute corner Dynamo hearts were in mouths. The left-sided element of Mancini’s attacking trinity could not keep his volley down, instead sending the ball over the bar.

Deceived by some stellar skill on Andriy Yarmolenko’s part, David Silva failed to cutout a cross pounced on by Shevchenko. He may be 34 now but the former Chelsea and AC Milan striker’s reflexes seemed razor sharp as he expertly dispatched a hallmark, close-range volley beyond Joe Hart.

Bar one wonderful piece of skill that had seen him take out two defenders before delivering a clever pass, the local hero had begun fairly quietly in his new deep-lying, persistently roving role, but by the interval no one could overestimate Shevchenko’s growing influence.

Dynamo deserved their second in the 77th minute when Hart and Richards hesitated, permitting Gusev to meet a deflected cross with a right-foot volley.

DYNAMO KIEV: Shovkovskiy, Danilo Silva, Khacheridi, Yussuf, Popov, Gusev, Vukojevic, Eremenko, Yarmolenko, Shevchenko (Ninkovic 88), Milevskiy. Booked: Yussuf.

Subs not used: Koval, Betao, Garmash, Kravets, Leandro Almeida, Guilherme. MANCHESTER CITY: Hart, Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Zabaleta, Toure Yaya, Barry, Kolarov (Wright-Phillips 82), Balotelli (Tevez 57), Dzeko, Silva. Booked: Balotelli, Tevez. Subs not used: Taylor, Boateng, Vieira, De Jong, Boyata.

Referee: Florian Meyer (Germany).