There were three changes to the Chelsea line-up that had started the win over Villa at the weekend
Pedro and Remy didnÂ’t travel cause of injuries and Jose didnÂ’t want to risk them
Eden Hazard came in place of Pedro
Nemanja Matic, who came on at half-time on Saturday, started in the middle and Gary Cahill was back in central defence, with Kurt Zouma moving out to right-back
Cesar Azpilicueta was back on the left.
It was the wingers Eden Hazard and Willian who came closest to breaking the deadlock and both had influential games
The team as a whole produced a coherent display and Asmir Begovic was only called upon to make a couple of difficult saves.
PortoÂ’s home win over Maccabi Tel Aviv places them top of the group with seven points at the halfway stage, with Dynamo Kiev on five points and Chelsea on four
First Half
An early slip from Dynamo Kiev centre-back Aleksandar Dragovic had more to do with pressing from the Chelsea attackers than it did the wet pitch(it rained in the UEFA Youth league earlier during the day where Chelsea U-19 beat Dynamo Kiev 0-2), and a cute Matic backheel under pressure to find Hazard in space were good early signs for the Blues
Hazard was then gifted the ball by Sergey Sydorchuk but could not find Diego Costa with his pass
Dynamo boss Sergei Rebrov had made five changes following a home hammering by Shakhtar in their most recent outing, but the former Spurs and West Ham strikerÂ’s side had been second best in the opening 10 minutes
Vitaliy Buyalskily, one of the players brought back in, was the first to test Asmir Begovic but it was a comfortable save.
With just over quarter-of-an hour gone, Chelsea were denied a penalty after their best move of the game so far
It involved Hazard, Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas and ended with Fabregas bundled over by two Dynamo players who did not make contact with the ball
Fabregas and Jose were certain that Chelsea should have been awarded a penalty but the referee denied them
On 26 minutes came the home sideÂ’s best effort yet and BegovicÂ’s best save, diving to get his hand to a thumping shot after Derlis Gonzalez surged inside and let fly.
At the other end, Chelsea kept the pressure on Kiev and the home side were fortunate when WillianÂ’s corner(one of his trademark free-kicks at the moment) went all way across the goal without a touch by anyone
Chelsea were finding space easy to come by in the middle of the park and the next corner was looped over high by Fabregas
The keeper saved under the bar from CahillÂ’s header.
As the teams went down the tunnel at half-time, it was only a lack of a goal so far that prevented this from being a textbook Champions League away performance
Dynamo Kiev 0-0 Chelsea (half-time):
Shots: 4-8 Pass accuracy: 82%-78%Chances created: 3-5Possession: 53%-47%
Second Half
Chelsea were centimetres away from breaking the deadlock within two minutes of the restart
Willian on the run was taken down by Yevhen Khacheridi, who was lucky not to be booked, and took the free-kick himself, this time from a central position
He beat the wall but not the woodwork as the ball bounced down off the bar and was unlucky not to score
Hazard returned a Fabregas pass on 52 minutes but finding himself in a large amount of space, Fabregas decided to have a go at the keeper but he shot too straight at the keeper.
Chelsea were turning up the heat with some good moves but Begovic had to be sharp to keep out a Gonzalez shot after danger man Andriy Yarmolenko, who had been quiet in the first period, had counter-attacked from deep inside his own half
That would prove to be KievÂ’s best opportunity.
Dynamo finally earned a first booking when Buyalskaya fouled Fabregas
There was some increasingly ragged play from the home side out there, although Zouma quickly followed into the book for a foul midway inside the Kiev half.
There were 15 minutes to go when Oscar replaced Fabregas but it took until the final few minutes for either side to threaten again.
Zouma showed his power and pace to stay with opposing full-back Domagoj Vida and blocked for a corner
The corner ended with Begovic claiming the ball on the turf.
However, it was Chelsea who had the final attack with a rapid break from the back
Willian cut into space but curled his shot wide of the post and the final whistle blew.
Dynamo Kiev 0-0 Chelsea (full-time):
Shots: 9-12Pass accuracy: 81%-75%Chances created: 8-8Possession: 54%-46%
With this game Chelsea have now kept 3 clean sheets in a row in all competition
Surprisingly, Ivanovic didnÂ’t start any of the previous 3 games
So is it a coincidence? I leave that for you to decide.
The next 2 games to West Ham(EPL) and Stoke City(Capital One Cup), both away, would be a tough contest but keeping 3 clean sheets should boost the morale of the team, especially the defenders
Although Chelsea failed to score in this game, they are regaining their character and its only a matter of time when The Boys in Blue are back in form
Source : DSG
Source: DSG