Lazio were left reeling by a pair of magnificent strikes, as Dynamo Kiev secured a 2-2 draw in a thrilling Europa League encounter at the Stadio Olimpico on Thursday.
The Ukrainian side took the lead soon after the start of the second period through an audacious Viktor Tsyhankov backheel, having struggled to test Lazio in the first half.
A quickfire double from Ciro Immobile and Felipe Anderson looked to have given the Aquile the advantage going into the second leg in Kiev next week. However, a wonderful dipping strike by Junior Moraes saw Dynamo Kiev secure a draw and two away goals.
An early Alessandro Murgia freekick into a crowded penalty area was headed clear by Mykyta Burda, with Stefan Radu ready to nod Lazio ahead.
Indeed, the Biancocelesti were soon imposing themselves on proceedings, with much of their joy coming down the right. Felipe Anderson poked the ball out to Dusan Basta with the outside of his boot before collecting the returning low cut back, only to fire into the side netting.
Midway through the half, Basta looked certain to give the hosts the lead but was thwarted by his own teammate. A teasing cross was headed out of the six-yard box by Tamas Kadar into the path of Basta, and the Serbian met the ball with a venomous half-volley, only to see his effort cannon off Murgia’s back.
Basta was causing Dynamo Kiev all kinds of trouble as he found space out wide, and his looping cross was sidefooted across the face of goal by Jordan Lukaku at the back post. With the goal at the Immobile’s mercy, Burda came to the Bilo-Syni’s rescue with a hooked clearance to prevent the forward from tapping home with ease.
Lazio were dominating and it took almost 40 minutes for the visitors to offer any real threat, as the Ukrainians showed their menace on the break. An Aquile freekick on the edge of the box was headed clear and soon turned into a rapid counterattack, led by Viktor Tsyhankov.
The young midfielder showed incredible pace to charge from his own half and skip through Lazio’s defence, before a deflected cross landed at the feet of Mykola Shaparenko in the box. The 19-year-old was unable to bring the ball under control and apply the finishing touch before Stefan De Vrij cleared the danger though.
The contest burst into life early in the second half, as Dynamo Kiev snatched a crucial away goal before being pegged back almost immediately.
Sloppy Lazio defending allowed the ball to fall to Josip Pivaric wide on the left, and the full-back’s deep cross to the back post was headed across the face of goal by Besyedin, as the forward stepped across a switched-off Lukaku.
The Biancoceleste were duly punished as they failed to pick up Tyshankov, and the Ukraine international brought the ball down before backheeling beyond Thomas Strakosha.
However, Dynamo Kiev’s joy was short lived, as the hosts drew level within minutes. Anderson took a neat Milinkovic-Savic pass into his feet before spinning and sliding the ball through for Immobile. The striker made no mistake with his first time effort, slotting expertly into the bottom corner.
As the away side struggled to regain their composure, Lazio struck again to turn the match on it’s head. Milinkovic-Savic showed good strength to pinch the ball in midfield and found an on-rushing Anderson with a smart through ball. The Brazilian drove into the box and fired low to put his side ahead.
However, the match threatened to become even more topsy-turvy, as Dynamo Kiev almost grabbed a second. A perfectly timed run allowed Pivaric to break the offside trap and meet Vitaliy Buyalskyi’s threaded pass, but he was thwarted by a brave low Strakosha block.
With LAzio looking comfortable late on, the visitors secured a second away goal and a share of the spoils in some style. Substitute Junior Moraes touched the ball on before curling in a magnificent effort from 20 metres out that dipped beyond Strakosha.
With the final kick of the match, Immobile stabbed against the post after breaking beyond the defence, but Dynamo Kiev held out for a draw.
