Source: Daily_Mail
Manchester City 1 Dynamo Kiev 0 (agg 1-2): Mario Balotelli off as Mancini's men out
Everything about Mario Balotelli seems to be rash at the moment. [LNB]After the bizarre allergic reaction to the grass in Kiev last week that saw Manchester City's volatile striker depart with a skin irritation and swollen face, came the quite idiotic challenge at Eastlands last night that arguably cost his team a place in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.[LNB]Time will tell whether this was a missed opportunity for Roberto Mancini's team or an awkward obstacle removed in their pursuit of even greater prizes.[LNB] Seeing red: Mario Balotelli made his side's task all the more difficult with a silly red card in the first half[LNB]MATCH FACTS MANCHESTER CIT Y (4-2-3-1): Hart 6;Richards 7, Kompany 6, Lescott 6,Kolarov 7 (Milner 88min); De Jong 6,Barry 5 (A Johnson 71, 6); Balotelli 4,Yaya Toure 6, Silva 8 (Dzeko 76);Tevez 6. Subs not used: Taylor,Wright-Phillips, Vieira, Boyata.Booked: Tevez, Kompany, Silva, DeJong, Yaya Toure. Sent off: Balotelli. [LNB]DYNAMO KIEV (4-4-2): Shovkovskiy 7;Danilo Silva 7, Leandro Almeida 6,Yussuf 5, Popov 6; Gusev 6, Eremenko5, Vukojevic 6, Iarmolenko 5(Amancio 90); Shevchenko 6(Garmash 62, 6), Ninkovic 5 (Zozulya46, 6). Subs not used: Koval, Rybalka,Nesmachnyi, Milhomem Gusmao.Booked: Yussuf, Ninkovic, LeandroAlmeida. [LNB]Man of the match: David Silva.Referee: Cuneyt Cakir (Turkey) 4. [LNB]But there was no excuse for Balotelli'slatest aberration 10 minutes before the end of the first half. Itbrought the second red card of his short City career and left histeam-mates having to play a man down for the best part of an hour asthey narrowly failed to overturn a two-goal deficit from the first leg.[LNB]The 20-year-old arrived with a dubious reputation when City signed him from Inter Milan for ?24million last summer and so far he has lived up to it. As well as the two reds, there have been nine yellow cards.[LNB]Moments after racing towards referee Cuneyt Cakir last night, arms flailing, about a decision that had gone against him, he gave the Turkish official no excuse but to send him off.[LNB]Balotelli lunged toward Goran Popov as the Kiev defender played the ball down the touchline in the 36th minute, cynically raking the studs of his left boot down his opponent's chest to his thigh.[LNB]The fact that City scored through Aleksandar Kolarov three minutes later is misleading. They were not better off without him - even if it might seem that way sometimes - and could have completed an unlikely comeback with an equal amount of players on the pitch.[LNB] [LNB] Bad day at the office: After just four minutes the Italian skied a perfectly good opportunity to haul this side back into the tie[LNB]Asked afterwards if he was angry with Balotelli, Mancini said: 'What do you think? I'm disappointed because this was a difficult game and you can't have a stupid red card like this. It's a problem for him because Mario can be a fantastic player, but when he does stupid things like tonight it's difficult for me, for him and for the team.[LNB]'Even with 10 players we deserved to score another goal. With 11, we would have scored two or three goals and got to the quarter-finals.'[LNB]Mancini must decide whether to fine the striker for his latest misdemeanour. But the indications are he will be left out of Sunday's Barclays Premier League clash with Chelsea.[LNB]If his moment of madness on the pitch was not damaging enough, there were later reports that Balotelli got out of his car and confronted Kiev fans who were taunting him as he left the ground.[LNB] [LNB] Lifeline: Aleksandar Kolarov helped City hit back just before the break[LNB]SEMI SET FOR SATURDAY Although the FA have yet to confirm it, Manchester City's FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United is set to take place on Saturday, April 16. [LNB]With City not involved in the Europa League that week, the Wembley clash does not have to be pushed back to the Sunday, enabling police to avoid a clash with the London Marathon and Arsenal's Premier League fixture against Liverpool. [LNB]Mancini might not accept defeat as a blessing in disguise. But he has often spoken about the fixture burden and there is no doubt this lightens the load. It was City's 48th game of the season and they will have played nine games more than Chelsea when the teams meet with third place in the league at stake.[LNB]And Mancini knows how important a top-four finish is to his club's - and possibly his own - future.[LNB]At least now he knows they will have a free week building up to the FA Cup semi-final with Manchester United, probably on April 16, while his rivals might have to face a Champions League quarter-final.[LNB]With suspended club captain Kolo Toure sitting in the stands alongside England boss Fabio Capello, City could have scored twice in the opening four minutes through Carlos Tevez and Balotelli, who also succeeded in blocking David Silva's goalbound effort with his back.[LNB]Atanda Yussuf's foul on Tevez on theedge of the box finally gave them the chance they needed six minutesbefore half-time. Silva touched the ball to Kolarov whose low drivethrough a crowded goalmouth crept under goalkeeper OleksandrShovkovskiy. At that stage City looked a good bet to go through despitethe numerical disadvantage.[LNB] Not quite Superman: Try as they might, City couldn't find the crucial second goal[LNB]But Leandro Almeida da Silva's clattering challenge on Tevez typified Dynamo's determination not to concede again and the away team took every opportunity run down the clock.[LNB]Dynamo had their chances as well, while Edin Dzeko and Yaya Toure both went close to taking the game to extra-time late on. But City are out and Balotelli, in particular, must face the consequences. [LNB] [LNB] EUROPA LEAGUE LIVE: Manchester City v Dynamo Kiev - all the action from Eastlands as it happenedStop Shevchenko! Kompany singles out former Chelsea flop as main threat to City's Europa League dreamCity chiefs fear crowd trouble for Europa League showdown with Kiev All the latest Manchester City news, features and opinion[LNB] Explore more:People: Roberto Mancini, Mario Balotelli, Edin Dzeko, Carlos Tevez, David Silva, Fabio Capello, Kolo Toure Places: Liverpool, Turkey, United Kingdom
