Dynamo Kiev 0-0

Independent:

Blues produce improved performance but can't find cutting edge
Dynamo Kiev 0 Chelsea 0
Jack Pitt-brooke Olympic Stadium

Under normal circumstances, a team like Chelsea might look at a point like this, and a game like this, as something to forget about quickly and move on. This Chelsea, though – the Chelsea of one of the most disastrous Premier League title defences ever launched – cannot turn up their nose at a clean sheet and a point.
This was not a classic match and nor was it a classic performance, but Chelsea found something here in Kiev that has evaded them for much of the season: stability. They defended in numbers but they defended well, which is more than they have been able to say of late.
Dynamo Kiev did very little to impress, but that is not the point. Chelsea have almost found ways of beating themselves, but here they hung together, played together and followed Jose Mourinho’s instructions as far as their limited confidence and form would carry them.
There were very few moments of quality on the pitch – the recalled Eden Hazard hit the post on the break, Willian hit the bar with a free-kick – but nor were there any moments of disaster.
After everything that has happened, this display – like the 2-0 defeat of Aston Villa – could represent if not progress then at least a bottoming out, or a clinging onto the last few rungs of a ladder that the team had been sliding down all season.

This was not a night for anything other than the basics for the visitors. When Mourinho listed before the game what he wanted to see from his team – “awareness, discipline, spirit, effort, concentration” – it was clear what sort of game he was planning.
It is what Chelsea tried to do against Porto three weeks ago but they were eventually overwhelmed by superior opposition. Here, though, they were facing an inferior side. Mourinho hoped that, if Chelsea just defended well enough, they would be gifted enough openings on the break.
To that end, the manager restored Hazard to the side after dropping him for curious tactical reasons on Saturday. Hazard was lively, keen to prove he is still the best player on this team. The Belgian, of course, had their best first-half chance after just nine minutes as he found himself space and clipped a shot against the far post.
The rest of the first half was scrappy at best. Cesc Fabregas should have had a penalty after being tripped by Serhiy Rybalka but had his claims ignored by referee Damir Skomina – a decision Mourinho described afterwards as “weak and naive”, to mimic his Arsenal counterpart, Arsène Wenger. The Gunners manager had escaped censure after using the same words to describe Mike Dean after his side’s 2-0 defeat to Chelsea.
Willian put in one of his now-famous free-kicks from wide on the left, only for Diego Costa to just miss out on touching it into the net.
On another occasion, Nemanja Matic ran through the middle of the pitch and was so surprised to find himself through on goal that he stabbed the ball wide with his right foot, rather than simply using his left.

Although they did not score in the first half, Chelsea would stick with the same plan for the second. Without doing very much, the chances continued to come.
Rybalka pulled down Willian, who struck the 25-yard free-kick against the underside of the bar. Then Chelsea had a counter-attack which ended with Fabregas meekly shooting straight at Alexandr Shovkovskiy. When Willian picked out Hazard in space, a goal felt inevitable, only for Rybalka to throw himself in front of the shot.
Chelsea’s failure to exploit these chances left them at risk at the other end, and with Andriy Yarmolenko starting to play, even this Dynamo side carried a threat. Yarmolenko made a narrow-angle chance for Derlis Gonzalez, which Asmir Begovic saved. The Bosnian then had to claw a looping cross away from the far post, and Domagoj Vida shot over, as the hosts enjoyed their best spell of the game.
With Chelsea’s intensity dropping, Mourinho put on Oscar for Fabregas, but Dynamo were still on top and looked more likely to score in the final minutes. Junior Moraes replaced Artem Kravets up front and nearly turned in a cross at the near post from Vida.
Dynamo finished the game with a confidence that had been far beyond them in the first half. Gary Cahill and John Terry had to scramble a few headers away, conceding corners which they dealt with.
It was Chelsea, then, rather than Dynamo, who hung on for a point – but what an important point it might prove to be.

====================

Guardian:

Chelsea held at Dynamo Kyiv but keep Champions League hopes alive
Dynamo Kyiv 0 - 0 Chelsea

Dominic Fifield at the Olympic Stadium

Chelsea might more normally consider this to have been a rather forgettable occasion. It was, after all, a goalless scrap in a far-flung capital across the continent, a match marred by spats among home supporters in the stands as a reflection of the political tension currently gripping Ukraine, and a point which left the Premier League champions third in their section. Yet José Mourinho departed this arena talking of solidity and progress. He may yet pinpoint this as the moment his team’s faith and conviction were reaffirmed.
Something clicked in Kiev. This was more like the effective Chelsea from the latter stages of last season, when attacking threat was allied to the required work-rate and defensive nous. The likes of Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matic, so off-colour up to now, reacted to their manager’s recent criticisms and were recognisable against Dynamo as the talents of last term, with each conjuring their most convincing displays of the campaign to date. Here was evidence Mourinho’s methods are sparking a response, with the last four days having now yielded successive clean sheets for the first time since mid-April.
 
The team’s destiny in Group G remains in their own hands, and there will be confidence the remaining home fixtures can be won, together with the trip to the section’s whipping boys Maccabi Tel Aviv, to smooth passage into the knockout phase. The sense of satisfaction obtained here, though, should maintain the optimism generated from Saturday’s welcome win over Aston Villa. “The team were really solid and compact, the midfield really strong,” said Mourinho. “We are recovering some of that compactness, solidarity, effort, tactical discipline, qualities which are very important when you are not flying or playing with that confidence or flair, when your attacking players are not killing [opponents]. So in three days, two solid performances are good for us.”
There was, inevitably, one gripe that needed to be aired. The game had edged just beyond the quarter-hour mark when Cesc Fàbregas wriggled into the penalty area and was clipped by Serhiy Rybalka, only for the Slovenian official, Damir Skomina, to wave away the appeals for a spot-kick.
“The referee was weak and naive,” offered Mourinho, echoing Arsène Wenger’s unpunished criticisms of Mike Dean’s display when Chelsea beat Arsenal in September. “A big penalty. I keep not understanding what the referee standing behind the goal does because [he] doesn’t make a clear decision.
“I think the referee was very good – I’m serious – but he made one mistake. And, for example, in the Rugby World Cup, I think the referee [Craig Joubert] in the Scotland game was very good but made one mistake. And that mistake cost Scotland their chance. When the result is 0-0 and such a penalty is not given, it’s a crucial moment of the game.”
A local asked whether Mourinho might be risking sanction from Uefa – he is out of the jurisdiction of the Football Association in this competition – with his criticisms, to which the Portuguese offered with a smile: “So it was not a penalty.” Uefa may still wish to cast an eye over the comments. Regardless, the phrase “weak and naive” may be muttered with some regularity over the course of the campaign to come. Rybalka’s trip should have presented Chelsea with their clearest sight of goal, but they still created enough opportunities to have inflicted Dynamo’s first home defeat to English opposition since 2007. It was profligacy which cost them a victory. Hazard, nominated for the Ballon d’Or earlier in the day, broke away from his industrious defensive running to curl a shot on to the base of the far post early on while Willian struck the crossbar with a free-kick just after the interval.
The link-up play between the wingers, Fàbregas in midfield and Diego Costa was exquisite at times, even if it was Matic who created and missed the best chance of all. Intercepting the ball in central midfield, the Serb rampaged through and beyond four flustered Dynamo players and into the area. He seemed as startled at his progress as anybody, which might have explained the awkward finish poked wide of the far post as Oleksandr Shovkovskiy dived almost in despair.
The frustration was that Dynamo were there for the taking. Thrashed at home by Shakhtar Donetsk last Friday, they were as timid and fragile as Chelsea have been at times this term, their only real attacking threat carried by the much coveted Andriy Yarmolenko on the flank. Only in the last 10 minutes, with Chelsea wondering whether to stick or twist, did they threaten to pilfer reward, again with Yarmolenko to the fore. Yet the visitors held firm.
This is another step towards recovery, a display and result from which to draw encouragement. This team is edging itself back into form.

=====================

Telegraph:

Dynamo Kiev 0 Chelsea 0

Jose Mourinho uses refused penalty to take another swipe at Wenger
Referee described as 'weak and naive', words used by Arsenal manager in escaping punishment by authorities

 By  Matt Law

Jose Mourinho took another sarcastic swipe at Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger after his team were denied a Champions League victory in Kiev by the woodwork and referee Damir Skomina.
Chelsea manager Mourinho was furious he was punished by the Football Association for saying referees were “afraid” to give his team decisions, while Wenger got away with calling Mike Dean “weak” and “naïve.”
Mourinho felt Cesc Fabregas should have been awarded a first-half penalty against Dynamo Kiev and borrowed Wenger’s phrase to describe the performance of Skomina.
Fabregas danced his way into the box and went down under a challenge from Serhiy Rybalka. The Spaniard was the only man to appeal for a penalty and replays suggested he was right to, but Skomina allowed play to continue.
“The referee was weak and naïve,” said Mourinho. “It was a big penalty. I keep not understanding what the goal referee does. Because [he] doesn’t make a clear decision. When the result is zero-zero and such a penalty is not given it’s a crucial moment of the game.
“I think the referee was very good. I think he made one mistake. And, for example, in the Rugby World Cup, I think the referee in the Scotland game was very good but made one mistake. And that mistake cost Scotland their chance.”
Mourinho has to be careful about commenting about referees in England with a suspended one-match stadium ban hanging over his head and it now remains to be seen whether or not Uefa looks at his comments in Europe.
Other than being denied what Mourinho felt was a certain penalty, Chelsea were twice kept out by the woodwork in Kiev as Eden Hazard was denied a dream return.
Chelsea dominated long periods of their Champions League clash against Dynamo, but could not break the deadlock and still have work to do to qualify from Group G.
Hazard, recalled to the starting line-up after being left out against Aston Villa, hit the post and Willian struck the underside of the bar as Chelsea were frustrated by the hosts.
Cesc Fabregas found Hazard inside the penalty area and the Belgian shifted the ball out of his feet, but goalkeeper Olexandr Shovkovskiy managed to push his shot on to the upright.
Certainly, Hazard was a lot busier than he has been in recent weeks and made a very obvious attempt to get back to help his defenders, as well as dribbling at both Dynamo full-backs and producing some of his trademark turns.
Shovkovskiy saved from both Fabregas and Willian, before Nemanja Matic, recalled at the expense of teenager Ruben Loftus-Cheek, squandered a wonderful chance to put Chelsea ahead.
Matic burst his way past four Dynamo players into the box, but the midfielder seemed as surprised as everyone else to find himself in front of goal and stabbed the ball wide with only Shovkovskiy to beat.

Just as he was against Aston Villa, Ramires was excellent in the centre of midfield, retrieving the ball for Mourinho’s men and starting attacks, while Willian caused the Dynamo defenders plenty of problems.
The Brazilian started the game as Chelsea’s top scorer with four goals all from free-kicks and twice nearly added to that tally from set pieces.
Willian has specialised the art of sending a free-kick past the onrushing attackers and into the corner of net, but his effort on 19 minutes narrowly bounced wide of the Dynamo post.
Just minutes after the restart, Willian went even closer after winning a free-kick for himself in a central position 20 yards out. This time his effort sailed over the wall but bounced agonisingly off the underside of the crossbar to safety.

Despite creating numerous chances of their own, Chelsea also suffered a couple of nervous moments at the back.
Vitaliy Buyalskiy was Dynamo’s most dangerous player and he twice forced Asmir Begovic into saves. The first shot was straight at the Chelsea goalkeeper, but the second had Begovic diving to his right to push the ball around the post.
While the woodwork was undoubtedly responsible for keeping the score goalless, so was some wasteful finishing.
Mourinho’s men should have taken the lead in the 53rd minute, when Hazard broke with the ball and had four Chelsea players queuing up ahead of him to shoot at goal. He elected to pass to Fabregas, but the former Arsenal man sent a low drive straight at Shovkovskiy.
Hazard was again denied, as Rybalka threw himself in the way of his shot after Willian had found his team-mate in space inside the Dynamo penalty area.

Chelsea were close to being caught by a sucker punch, however, as Begovic made two more vital saves. Derlis Gonzalez looked set to score, but the Bosnia international stood his ground to keep out the Dynamo forward’s shot and then remained alert to tip away a dangerous cross.
Mourinho decided to make a change with 15 minutes remaining as Oscar replaced Fabregas. The substitution swung the game back towards the visitors and Willian went close with a late shot, but Chelsea could not find the goal that would have made qualification from the group stages look a lot more certain with Porto beating Maccabi Tel Aviv.
“We thought we could win, but we couldn't lose it,” said Mourinho. “If we'd lost, we'd have to win at home. Dynamo have to play Porto still, so one will lose points, so this result keeps us in a stable position.”

============================

Mail:

Dynamo Kiev 0-0 Chelsea:

Eden Hazard and Willian hit the woodwork as Blues are held to unlucky draw in Champions League

Chelsea kept pace in Champions League Group G with a draw against Dynamo Kiev in Ukraine

Sami Mokbel

This was a predictable Jose Mourinho away performance. Tight, compact, solid and disciplined. And, of course, a pop at the referee.
The Chelsea manager, having watched his side secure a gutsy draw at Dynamo Kiev, criticised Damir Skomina for his failure to award a penalty after Cesc Fabregas fell in the box.
‘The referee was weak and naive, it was a big penalty,’ said Mourinho. ‘I don’t understand what the goal referee does. Because he doesn’t make a clear decision
‘When the result is 0-0 and such a penalty is not given it’s a crucial moment of the game. I actually think the referee was very good but I think he made one mistake.
‘And in the Rugby World Cup, I think the referee in the Scotland game was very good but made one mistake. And that mistake cost Scotland their chance.’

Look a little deeper and you will realise this was not merely a swipe at Skomina. The words ‘weak and naive’ were used by Arsene Wenger to describe referee Mike Dean’s performance after Chelsea’s controversial win over Arsenal earlier this season.
As pointed out by Mourinho last week; the Gunners manager dodged FA sanctions for his comments.
Likewise, just 24 hours after the FA published their written reasons for handing Mourinho a £50,000 fine and a suspended touchline ban for his comments regarding referee Robert Madley, Wembley disciplinary chiefs will certainly have noted the Special One’s sarcasm.
But when Mourinho sips his coffee on Wednesday morning, he will be much happier than he was this time last week.
But for the time being, refraining from the ‘Chelsea are back’ statements would be wise. This was not vintage; far from it. But it was more like it from Chelsea. Disciplined, calculated and considered — it is what Mourinho does best.
A goalless draw against Dynamo Kiev may not have the rest of Europe quaking in their boots, but on the evidence of last night they look to be heading in the right direction.
Mourinho has not been slow in criticising his players in recent weeks. On Tuesday night the message finally looked to be getting through. They carried out their manager’s instructions to a T.
Yet, the Blues boss will have a tinge of regret his side did not leave Ukraine with victory. They had certainly the chances. Mourinho said: ‘We are much more solid now. Two matches, two clean sheets, no problems defensively.
‘We are recovering some of that compactness, solidarity, effort, tactical discipline which are important when you are not flying.’
Eden Hazard returned to the starting XI after he was axed for the 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday. It was not a decision Mourinho would have taken lightly, though.
‘What do I expect from Hazard? If possible, win the match for us. If not win it, be a team man for us,’ said Mourinho before kick-off.
The comments were indicative of Mourinho’s mood. This was not a night for pretty football, but one for grinding out a result.
Centre backs John Terry, Gary Cahill and Kurt Zouma all started — the latter playing at right back. Nemanja Matic was recalled in preference to Ruben Loftus-Cheek and took his place alongside Ramires in defensive central midfielder.
Chelsea looked better for the changes; Hazard hit the post with a curling effort in the 10th minute before Fabregas, after colliding with Serhiy Rybalka, saw his half-hearted penalty appeal waved away by Skomina. 
The lack of significant appeals from the Spaniard indicated it was the correct decision — although TV replays showed why Mourinho was so angry at full-time.
Matic missed a glorious chance in the 19th minute before Willian hit the bar just after half-time.
The hosts mustered a response in the final 10 minutes but Chelsea never looked in any real danger as Mourinho’s side left Ukraine with what they wanted — a point.

============================

Mirror:

Dynamo Kiev 0-0 Chelsea: Eden Hazard stars but Blues made to settle for a point in Ukraine
 
By John Cross
 
The Belgian wing-wizard was restored to the starting line-up by Jose Mourinho for this Champions League away-day and repaid his boss with a fine display
If that is what tough love does for Eden Hazard, then Jose Mourinho better try it with the rest of the team.
Hazard put in his best performance of the season - which isn't saying much - and only the woodwork denied him and his team a precious Champions League victory.
Mourinho can feel rightly frustrated that Chelsea did not take all three points here in Ukraine but he will also see the bigger picture and that was typified by Hazard’s display.
It was all about hard work, tracking back and putting in a shift for the team. It was reminiscent of Hazard at his best last season and will be hugely encouraging for Chelsea.
Obviously, no game would be complaint without a Mourinho complaint about a referee and he was right to feel aggrieved because Cesc Fabregas should have been given a penalty.

But after a turbulent and dreadful start to the campaign, you can see green shoots of recovery. Maybe Mourinho’s message is finally getting through.
On Saturday, he dropped Hazard - last season’s double Player of the Year - and promptly slaughtered him for not doing his defensive duties and lacking tactical awareness.
It was brutal but maybe Mourinho has lost patience with every other tactic in trying to get the best out of Chelsea’s No10.
And on a cold, drizzly night in Dynamo Kiev’s vast Olympic Stadium, Hazard dug deep with a man-of-the-match display straight out of the Mourinho textbook.
This is how he wants even his luxury players to play. Covering the full-back, defending as well as attacking.
It was a complete performance to remind us why Hazard was one of five Premier League stars nominated in the Ballon D’Or World Player of the Year awards.

There is a long way back for Chelsea and Mourinho is clearly dreaming when he claims they can still win all four trophies. Their Champions League group still looks treacherous, never mind winning the damned thing.
But you can slowly but surely see last season’s Chelsea emerging from the clouds of doom. It’s not about them hitting top gear, more about them scrapping, looking more solid and regaining their belief.
Right from the start, it was Hazard who caught the eye amid Chelsea’s solid midfield as Nemanja Matic and Ramires ran themselves into the ground. Clearly, Mourinho’s Hazard pep talk is working for the rest of the team.
After just nine minutes, Hazard went desperately close to giving Chelsea the lead but his low shot hit the far post with Dynamo keeper Olexandr Shovkovskiy well beaten.
That set the tone as Fabregas and Matic both went close while Diego Costa just failed to get the finishing touch on one of Willian’s familiar teasing free-kicks.

Fabregas was right to feel aggrieved when he went down in the box under Serhiy Rybalka’s challenge only for Slovenian referee Damir Skomina to wave away protests when TV replays showed it should have been a penalty.
No wonder Mourinho was incensed but luckily his post-match jibes - another sly dig at Arsene Wenger - will come under UEFA’s jurisdiction rather than the FA.
Willian crashed a 25-yard free-kick against the underside of the crossbar in the second half as Chelsea continued to dominate.
Hazard was superb throughout, leading a breakaway to set up Fabregas but his low shot was gathered by Shovkovskiy.

This was much more like it from Chelsea.
Hazard went close again after 59 minutes when Willian’s cut back found the Belgian forward only for Rybalka to make a heroic block to deflect the ball over the bar.
But as their legs tired and work rate dropped as the game wore on, the Londoners also had to rely on keeper Asmir Begovic to deny Derlis Gonzalez.
But Chelsea flew home with their belief and confidence slowly returning. And, possibly just as importantly, their best player shining once more.
Mourinho’s bold claim that they can still win all four trophies still looks like a fantasy. But just one will do after the start to the season they've had.
And after positive signs, you wouldn’t bet against it now.

========================

Express:

Dynamo Kiev 0 - Chelsea 0: Blues earn valuable point from stalemate in Ukraine
CHELSEA rediscovered some of the old resilience and stubbornness that are the normal hallmarks of Jose Mourinho’s teams in the Ukraine last night.

By Tony Banks at the Olympic Stadium

Mourinho’s side, who badly needed a result to get their Group G campaign back on the rails, produced one of their best performances of the season to snuff out Sergei Rebrov’s team and grab a vital point.
It was, for the first time in this topsy-turvy campaign, like watching the Chelsea of last season, the Chelsea that won the title.
They were sure-footed, incisive and confident – qualities that have been missing all too often this season. Perhaps it was the first sign that Mourinho, who said before this game that he still believed that Chelsea could win all four trophies, is beginning to turn around his team’s season. It was not quite vintage Chelsea – but it was a vast improvement. Maybe the green shoots are at last showing.

After the defeat at Porto in their last game, Mourinho needed this display.
Eden Hazard, dropped and given a dressing down by Mourinho at the weekend, was back in the side – and the Belgian was another who needed a strong showing.
Kurt Zouma was drafted in at right-back in place of the injured Branislav Ivanovic. Hazard in fact started as though he was going to prove his manager right.

He collected a pass from Cesc Fabregas and curled in a shot that 40-year-old goalkeeper Oleksandr Shovkovskiy got his fingertips to and touched onto the post – and then Fabregas flashed a header over from Diego Costa’s pull back.
Dynamo looked nervous, though Vitaliy Buyalskiy did test Asmir Begovic with a drive from 25 yards. Fabregas was felled in the area by Serhiy Rybalka, but referee Damir Skomina waved away Chelsea’s appeals, to Mourinho’s fury on the touchline.
It certainly did not look as if the Dynamo man got the ball. But then came another golden opportunity for Mourinho’s men – as Nemanja Matic drifted right through the middle past three tackles.
But then somehow he managed to poke his shot wide of the post from ten yards when he should have scored.

For the first time Dynamo broke through, and Buyalskiy’s shot was deflected just wide. But Chelsea were harrying well and closing the gaps, giving Rebrov’s team little space – and they were looking dangerous on the break. Then Shovkovskiy saved Gary Cahill’s header under his own bar, but Dynamo looked vulnerable at the back to Hazard and Willian’s pace.
Rebrov’s team kept trying to get star man Andriy Yarmolenko – a target for Everton, Stoke and Tottenham – into the game – but he was well shackled by Cesar Azpilicueta.
Mourinho had called for tactical awareness and discipline from his team, qualities not shown often enough by Chelsea this season. And Chelsea came out for the second half in exactly the same determined frame of mind.
And when Willian was tripped just outside the area, the Brazilian picked himself up to curl a glorious 47th-minute free-kick over the wall – only to see the ball bounce back off the bar and Dynamo scramble it away.

Then came another break, and yet another good chance went begging, as Hazard set up Fabregas, but the Spaniard fired his shot straight at Shovkovskiy.
Another combination from the pair saw Hazard clear in the area, but his shot was blocked. There was though a rare moment of danger, when Dynamo broke quickly, and Begovic had to produce a smart block to foil Derlis Gonzalez.
At last, Rebrov’s team began to crank up the pressure – but Domagoj Vida shot over when he should have done better.
With a minute to go Begovic collected a dangerous low centre from Serhiy Sydorchuk, then Willian curled just wide for Chelsea in stoppage time.

DYNAMO KIEV (4-2-3-1): Shovkovskiy; Silva, Khacheridi, Dragovic, Vida; Rybalka, Sydorchuk; Yarmolenko, Buyalskiy (Garmash 83), Gonzalez; Kravets (Moraes 78). Booked: Buyalskiy.
CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): Begovic; Zouma, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Ramires, Matic; Willian, Fabregas (Oscar 75), Hazard; Costa. Booked: Zouma. NEXT UP: West Ham (a), Sat PL.
Referee: D Skomina (Slovenia).

=======================

Star:

Dynamo Kiev 0 Chelsea 0: Blues hit the bar twice during frustrating night in Ukraine

CHELSEA still have work to do if they are to progress in the Champions League – but boss Jose Mourinho will be heartened by his side’s performance in Kiev.


By Jeremy Cross, Chief Sports Writer

The Stamford Bridge men struck the woodwork twice and Cesc Fabregas had a strong penalty shout waved away – to Mourinho’s disgust on the touchline.
After the defeat at Porto in their last game, this was just the sort of showing that Mourinho demanded from his side.
Eden Hazard, dropped and given a dressing down by his manager at the weekend, was brought back into the side – and the Belgian needed to put on a show.
Before kick-off Mourinho insisted Hazard was the man who could be his match winner, while he also drafted Kurt Zouma in at right-back in place of the injured Branislav Ivanovic.
Chelsea were facing a dangerous Dynamo side that had taken four points from their opening two matches in Group G, but crashed 3-0 embarrassingly at home to league rivals Shakhtar Donetsk on Friday night.
Hazard started as though he was going to prove his manager right, collecting a pass from Fabregas and curling in a shot that 40-year-old goalkeeper Olexandr Shovkovsky got his fingertips to, touching it on to the post.

And Fabregas flashed a header over from Diego Costa’s pull-back as Dynamo looked nervous at the start, though Vitaliy Buyalsky did test Blues keeper Asmir Begovic with a drive from 25 yards.
Fabregas was then felled in the area by Serhiy Rybalka but referee Damir Skomina waved away Chelsea’s appeals, much to Mourinho’s fury on the touchline – and it certainly did not look as if the Dynamo man got the ball.
But then came another golden chance for Mourinho’s men – as Nemanja Matic drifted right through the middle past three tackles but then somehow poked his shot wide of the post from 10 yards.
For the first time Dynamo broke through and Buyalskiy’s shot was deflected just wide.
Chelsea were giving Sergey Rebrov’s team little space and they were looking dangerous on the break.
Shovkovsky saved Gary Cahill’s header under his own bar but Dynamo looked vulnerable at the back.

Rebrov’s team kept trying to get star man Andriy Yarmolenko – a target for Everton, Stoke and Tottenham – into the game but he was well shackled by Cesar Azpilicueta.
Chelsea came out for the second half in the same determined frame of mind.
And, when Willian was tripped just outside the area, the Brazilian picked himself up to curl a glorious free-kick over the wall – only to see the ball bounce back off the bar and Dynamo scramble it away.
Hazard set up Fabregas but the Spaniard fi red his shot straight at Shovkovsky and Hazard was clear in the area but his shot was blocked.
Begovic had to produce a smart block to foil Derlis Gonzalez and later from Junior Moraes after John Terry had fluffed a clearance but Chelsea stood firm for an important away point.