Wednesday 24 February 2016 23:03, UK
Manchester City have one foot in the Champions League quarter-finals after claiming a 3-1 away win in the first leg of their last-16 tie against Ukranian outfit Dynamo Kiev.
Sergio Aguero put Manuel Pellegrini's men in front with an emphatic finish from Yaya Toure's knockdown after 15 minutes at the Olympic Stadium, and David Silva grabbed their second when he fired home Raheem Sterling's low cross shortly before the interval.
Vitaliy Buyalsky pulled a goal back as Kiev cranked up the pressure in the second half, but Toure re-established City's two-goal advantage with a superb curling finish in the final minute of normal time. Here are the main talking points on the night…
City on brink of last eight
A gruelling few weeks have seen City's title challenge falter and their FA Cup hopes go up in smoke, but they responded in style on the European stage. After group stage eliminations in 2011/12 and 2012/13 and last-16 knock-outs by Barcelona in the last two seasons, City are on the brink of reaching the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time in their history.
They were made to sweat as Dynamo threatened an equaliser after Buyalsky's shot deflected in off Nicolas Otamendi in the 58th minute, but Joe Hart kept them in front with a fine one-handed save and City rode out the storm before seizing the initiative in the closing stages.
Toure was guilty of squandering a glorious chance when he headed wide from six yards out eight minutes from time, but the Ivorian made up for it when he collected Fernandinho's lay-off, cut inside and curled a glorious finish into the top corner from the edge of the box.
FA Cup team selection vindicated?
Pellegrini caused a stir with his team selection in City's FA Cup thrashing by Chelsea on Saturday, and midfielder Fernando was the only player who started at Stamford Bridge to keep his place against Kiev. The City boss faced fierce criticism in the wake of that game, but the decision to rest his senior players appeared to pay off.
City overpowered the hosts with a high-energy first-half performance after their weekend off. Fernandinho, Fernando and Toure repeatedly stole possession and cut Kiev open with rapid counter-attacks, and the visitors could have had four or five goals before the break. In the closing stages of the game, City then had the stamina to re-assert their dominance and kill off the tie.
Aguero leads from the front
While City's recent European adventures have ended in bitter disappointment, there is no faulting Aguero. The Argentine's goal was his 16th in his last 17 Champions League starts, and it was expertly taken. He showed composure to control Toure's downward header on his chest, and the powerful finish gave Oleksandr Shovkovskiy no chance in the Dynamo goal.
City's No 10 could have had a second when he dragged a shot wide later in the first half, but he made up for that miss with a superb backheel to Sterling in the build-up to City's second. Aguero has now scored 10 goals in 11 appearances since the turn of the year, and his devastating form could be decisive in their hunt for silverware.
Sterling impresses ahead of Liverpool reunion
The Capital One Cup final against Liverpool is a huge game for everyone at City but for Raheem Sterling the meeting with his old club holds particular significance. The winger cited a desire to win silverware as his motivation for swapping Anfield for the Etihad in the summer, and he warmed up for Sunday's game with an impressive display against Dynamo.
Sterling was a constant threat on City's left flank. His assist for City's second goal had to be perfectly accurate to reach Silva at the far post, and he produced another superb delivery from which Toure should have scored shortly before their third goal. After struggling to make an impact in City's recent defeats to Leicester and Spurs, this was a perfect time for the 21-year-old to hit some form.
Mixed night for Yarmolenko
If transfer speculation is to be believed, there will have been Premier League clubs keeping a close eye on Andriy Yarmolenko's performance at the Olympic Stadium. The Dynamo dangerman came close to joining Everton in the summer and in February he revealed he would favour a move to Goodison Park over Barcelona.
The 26-year-old certainly started brightly on the right-hand side of Kiev's attack, firing a fierce diagonal shot which Hart nervously pushed onto the top of the crossbar in the fourth minute. He sent a low effort skidding narrowly wide of the post early in the second half, but he later wasted the hosts' best chance to equalise when he sent a poor cross straight into the arms of Hart after springing the offside trap.
Any watching scouts will have taken encouragement from some of his brighter moments, but they will have also noted that none of his nine crosses found a team-mate. He'll hope for a greater contribution in the return leg at the Etihad Stadium.
The Kompany effect
Vincent Kompany's return from injury against Tottenham may have ended in defeat 10 days ago, but the City skipper was hugely influential at the Olympic Stadium. The Belgian had a calming effect on his team-mates and ranked first for successful tackles (six), clearances (nine) and interceptions (three).
His presence also helped his centre-back partner Otamendi, who looked far more assured than in recent weeks alongside Martin Demichelis and Eliaquim Mangala. With Kompany fully fit and back up to speed, City will be hoping his stabilising effect on their backline continues in the final months of the season.
