Chelsea missed the chance to move back into the top two of Champions League Group G this evening having been held to a goalless draw by Dynamo Kiev at the NSK Olimpiyskiy.
Eden Hazard came within inches of breaking the deadlock inside 10 minutes when he cut inside and curled an effort towards the bottom corner that was tipped onto the post.
Willian also hit the woodwork early in the second half when his free kick crashed off the underside of the crossbar as the visitors were forced to settle for a point.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at whether that was the right result in Ukraine.
Match statistics
DYNAMO KIEV
Shots: 9
On target: 4
Possession: 56%
Corners: 6
Fouls: 19
CHELSEA
Shots: 12
On target: 5
Possession: 44%
Corners: 4
Fouls: 15
Was the result fair?
Neither side will be too dissatisfied with a point from this match, but Chelsea really should have won it. Jose Mourinho publicly declared that he was looking to pick up a minimum of four points from the double-header between these two sides, which suggested that he would be content with a draw this evening, but he may feel that it is two points dropped right now. His side created the better chances, had a very strong penalty shout turned down and hit the woodwork twice over the course of the 90 minutes.
The statistics above prove that it was far from one-way traffic in Kiev, but while the hosts enjoyed more of the ball, they rarely used it very effectively. Andriy Yarmolenko, as expected, was their most dangerous player, but even he was kept relatively quiet by Chelsea's defence. There was a period in the second half when the hosts were on top but, aside from that, it was Chelsea who looked the most like breaking the deadlock and picking up the points.
That they didn't was down to a slice of bad luck, some fine goalkeeping and at times a lack of cutting edge in the final third. Nemanja Matic, Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa, amongst others, had decent sights of goal to no avail. The visitors did come under more pressure in the final half-hour or so as Kiev started to push forward more, so in that sense Mourinho will be happy enough to only get a point, but this game was there for them to win, and you feel that they would have done just that last season.
Dynamo Kiev's performance
Was this a chance missed for Kiev? Probably. They will rarely play Chelsea at a better time than this and, while a draw with a team of that calibre would usually be regarded as a very good result for the club, it may not prove to be enough in this scenario. They still face the return trip to Stamford Bridge, as well as an away tie against Porto - so strong at the Estadio do Dragao - and they will do very well to get anything out of those two games. Realistically, they probably needed a victory tonight.
They didn't play like a side who were thinking like that, though. They lacked a sense of adventure in the first half, failing to truly trouble Asmir Begovic at all, and they didn't start looking threatening until the final half-hour. Derlis Gonzalez, Domagoj Vida and Junior Moraes all had sights of goal in that time, but they still didn't create chances of the ilk that Chelsea enjoyed. Begovic had a little more work to do, but he was not called upon to make any saves out of the ordinary.
Defensively they were sound throughout, although they were forced to rely on the woodwork and a superb save from Oleksandr Shovkovskiy to keep Chelsea at bay. At the other end of the field, Yarmolenko was at the heart of everything good Kiev did, yet he was still subdued by Cesar Azpilicueta, which went a long way towards stifling the entire Kiev attack. There were signs that they could perhaps cause Chelsea one or two problems in the return fixture but, while they remain in the top two, it is a big ask for them to qualify now.
Chelsea's performance
Much has been made of Chelsea's struggles so far this season but, for an hour at least, this was probably the best that we have seen from Mourinho's side since they lifted the Premier League title in May. They are still some way short of the standard that saw them crowned convincing champions of England, but this appeared to be a step in the right direction, even if the result could and should have been better. They played with a confidence belying their current predicament and were impressive both on and off the ball.
A feature of their play this evening was the pressure they applied on the opposition all over the field. They didn't give Kiev any time to play and, while the hosts had more possession, it came in areas that didn't pose any danger to Chelsea's defence. On the ball, their passing was crisp and accurate, while the likes of Hazard, Matic and John Terry, to name just three of the players who have failed to scale last season's heights, looked a little more like their old selves.
The fact that they were unable to win the match will be an irritant, though, as they had the chances to have it almost wrapped up by half time. Hazard had hit the post, Fabregas had been denied what looked like a certain penalty and Matic had failed to finish a barnstorming run forward. Moments after the restart, Willian also hit the woodwork. A draw still suits them better than it does Kiev, however, and while Porto now appear to be in pole position to finish top of Group G, it would be a big surprise if Chelsea don't make it into the top two.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Cesar Azpilicueta: Despite being a very consistent performer, Azpilicueta has probably not been named man of the match too often in his Chelsea career. He is thoroughly deserving of the crown today, though, having limited the threat of Yarmolenko substantially. The winger was still a tricky customer, but Azpilicueta continually showed him inside and into traffic. Not once was the reported Chelsea target able to cut inside and get a good shot away.
Biggest gaffe
It is slim pickings for this award tonight, so we'll go for referee Damir Skomina's decision not to award Chelsea a penalty when Fabregas went over inside the box. Skomina was very well placed but shook his head despite Fabregas appearing to be fouled twice on his way to the ground.
Referee performance
That penalty call was the biggest one the Slovenian official had to make tonight, and he got it wrong. Aside from that, though, he had a decent game otherwise, ignoring some theatrics and keeping his cards in his pocket where possible.
What next?
Dynamo Kiev: Next up for Kiev is the third of four straight home games as they host Obolon-Brovar in the Ukrainian Cup next Tuesday.
Chelsea: Chelsea, meanwhile, take on West Ham United in a London derby at Upton Park on Saturday afternoon.
Barney Corkhill
