Manchester City moved within touching distance of a first appearance in the Champions League quarterfinals after a dynamic first-half display at Dynamo Kiev helped it secure a 3-1 last-16 first-leg win Wednesday. In Eindhoven, PSV Eindhoven played for more than 20 minutes with 10 men but held on for a goalless draw at home to Atletico Madrid in the first leg. The Spanish club has earned a well-founded reputation for iron-clad defense this season but it was the Dutch champion which had to produce a stout rearguard action to avoid being beaten and leave the tie balanced ahead of the return leg on March 15. City was irrepressible in the opening 45 minutes, slicing through their opponents almost at will and taking a 2-0 lead with goals from Sergio Aguero and David Silva. The host, however, improved dramatically after the restart and Vitaliy Buyalskiy's deflected effort reduced the arrears to fire up the home crowd and spur on the Dynamo players. City keeper Joe Hart was forced into a superb save to deny Buyalskiy an equalizer, but Yaya Toure curled home late on to leave the tie firmly balanced in City's favor ahead of the return leg on March 15. The English side, which reverted to a full-strength team after resting a host of players in a humiliating 5-1 FA Cup defeat by Chelsea, began with real intent, dominating possession and pressing its opponent into near submission in a classy first-half display. The host, returning from their winter break, looked very much a side which had not played an official match in two and a half months. After a minor scare for City when Hart pushed an effort from Andriy Yarmolenko on to the crossbar, the visitors took the lead after 15 minutes. Toure headed Silva's corner into the path of Aguero, who made the most of the space he had been afforded to chest the ball down and volley sharply past keeper Olexandr Shovkovskiy for his 16th goal in his last 17 Champions League starts. Silva, playing in a central playmaker role, finished off a teasing low cross from Raheem Sterling at the far post on 40 minutes after good work from Aguero. Kiev came out in the second half with renewed vigor and reduced the deficit when Buyalskiy's rasping effort from the edge of the area took a big deflection off Nicolas Otamendi and nestled in the corner of Hart's net. Kiev piled forward and Hart was forced into a superb low save to deny Buyalskiy an equaliser with 10 minutes remaining, but Toure put City within touching distance of the last eight when he curled in from 20 meters in the 90th minute. PSV, making its first appearance in the knockout phase of the competition since 2007, was forced to play the closing stages deep in its own half after 20-year-old striker Gaston Pereiro was sent off for a second booking in the 68th minute. Having been cautioned in the first half, he was dismissed for a needless shoulder challenge on Atletico defender Diego Godin. The home side had started the game in an ambitious mood, fielding three attackers despite the absence of suspended top scorer Luuk de Jong. Godin did put the ball in the net with a close-range header midway through the second half but his effort was ruled out for a push on a PSV defender. The best chance of the first half also fell to Atletico. Forward Luciano Vietto raced on to a long ball inside the opening three minutes and scooped it over PSV keeper Jeroen Zoet, but saw his effort cleared off the line by the back-tracking Bruma. — Agencies
