Manchester City vs. Dynamo Kiev: Lessons Learned from Champions League
Manchester City moved into the last eight of the UEFA Champions League for the first time following a scoreless draw with Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday night at the Etihad Stadium.
Coupled with last month's 3-1 win in Ukraine, the Sky Blues advanced comfortably on aggregate. Manuel Pellegrini's men will learn the identity of their quarter-final opponents in Friday's draw in Nyon, Switzerland.
Here, Bleacher Report covers five lessons learned from Tuesday's match.
City Make History
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Manchester City have achieved a great deal since the Abu Dhabi United Group took over the club in 2008, winning six major trophies including a pair of Premier League titles. However, the major blot of City's resume during that time has been the Champions League.
But following a series of disappointments, the Sky Blues have now advanced to the quarter-finals of Europe's top club competition for the first time. Without doubt, that's a positive step in the club's history.
You can be sure the players won't be satisfied going merely this far, but can they keep the run going?
"It was really satisfying to make history for this club," defender Pablo Zabaleta said, per BBC Sport. "We are through to the quarter-finals for the first time. This group of players are working hard every day to make this club even bigger."
He added: "The Champions League, we are trying to reach at least a final. It's hard but today it was job done. Not a great performance but we are really pleased."
With Pep Guardiola set to take over as manager next season, City will expect to do at least this well on a regular basis. Anything is possible in a knockout tie, of course, but based on injuries and current form, City aren't likely to match the likes of Barcelona or Bayern Munich just yet.
But at a Cost
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Progression to the last eight came at a high cost for City, who lost both starting center-backs to injury by the 24th minute.
Captain Vincent Kompany was the first to go. The Belgian, who has battled injuries all season, appeared to tweak a muscle as he cleared a ball in City's half and limped off in the seventh minute. His replacement was Eliaquim Mangala.
Manager Manuel Pellegrini confirmed after full time that it was yet another calf issue, but a timetable for Kompany's return was not available as of this writing. That said, Kompany will almost surely miss Sunday's Manchester derby, and if history is any guide, he won't be available for the Champions League quarter-finals in early April.
"If it is calf (injury), based on the last two setbacks he's had, that's pretty much season over for Kompany," tweeted Bleacher's City correspondent Rob Pollard.
Nicolas Otamendi, who partnered Kompany at center-back in the starting lineup, lasted until the 24th minute before limping off with an injury of his own. If it's a serious injury, the Argentine will be a big loss for City. But make no mistake: Kompany's injury is much more massive.
When Kompany is on the pitch, City instantly become better at the back, more cohesive and less likely to leak goals. As Opta Joe noted at the time of the injury, City have conceded a goal every 194 minutes this season in the Premier League with Kompany in the lineup. Without him, that number drops to 65 minutes.
City can't afford another lengthy absence, but that might be exactly what's in store.
Jesus Navas Continues to Frustrate
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Pellegrini persisted with Jesus Navas on the right, handing the Spaniard a starting berth, then leaving him on the pitch for the full 90 minutes. That might not have been the case if City hadn't been forced to deal with two early injuries, but the circumstances meant Navas had a chance to impress. He didn't make the most of it.
In an illustrative sequence late in the first half, Navas led a counter down the right as City attacked quickly after winning possession. He never looked fully comfortable on the ball, though, and ended up rolling a pass straight out of bounds.
A better ball would have set up Sergio Aguero for a scoring chance, but Navas' end product just wasn't good enough. Which was no surprise for those who follow Man City on a regular basis.
"Navas is so infuriating. He’s like a racing pigeon who keeps flying into lamp-posts," tweeted the Times' Henry Winter.
Andriy Yarmolenko Fails to Impress
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In recent years, a transfer window can't pass without Adriy Yarmolenko being linked with one or more Premier League clubs. On his best days, it's easy to understand why, but this was hardly his best day.
After making little impact at all in the first half, Yarmolenko picked up a loose ball in City's end in the 63rd minute before cutting inside past Mangala. He looked set to test Joe Hart but instead scuffed a weak shot that failed to test the hosts' goalkeeper.
Yarmolenko's next opening came in the 84th minute, when he found himself in acres of space but inexplicably headed well off target. Embarrassingly, the flag quickly went up for offside, with replays showing him a good three yards beyond the last defender.
It was a poor showing from Yarmolenko, who failed to impress on the night.
The Champions League Doesn't Always Entertain
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What's more exciting than a Champions League knockout tie? On this occasion, plenty of potential diversions spring to mind. This was anything but an entertaining spectacle, but that's quite all right with Manchester City.
After winning 3-1 in the first leg in Ukraine, a draw was a good result for the Sky Blues. And after losing Kompany and Otamendi to injury in the first half, it looked even better. So while it wasn't exactly thrilling, this professional performance was exactly what City needed on the night. And as an added bonus, the back line kept a third consecutive clean sheet.
"We normally are a team who always score so we get criticism about not keeping clean sheets," Pellegrini said, per UEFA.com. "We have kept three clean sheets for three games in a row now. In this knockout round, you should know how to play tactical games and we will see how far we can go."
