cska comeback thwarts city published: tuesday 21 october 2014, 20.07cet pfc cska moskva 2-2 manchester city fc city were two in front at half-time but second-half strikes from seydou doumbia and bebras natcho, a late penalty, earned cska a draw.
by richard van poortvliet from arena khimki
• cska come from 2-0 down to earn point against manchester city • sergio agüero and james milner give visitors half-time cushion • substitute seydou doumbia pulls one back to revive cska hopes • bebras natcho rescues draw with late penalty to leave city on two points and cska one • next games: manchester city v cska moskva (5 november)
pfc cska moskva recovered from two goals down to draw with manchester city fc, bebras natcho's late penalty ensuring both sides' group e prospects continue to hang in the balance.
cska were desperately looking for an upturn in fortunes after losing their last six uefa champions league matches, a run that started almost a year ago to the day when they went down 2-1 to the citizens in moscow. the opening signs were good as ahmed musa and zoran tošić both went close with curling efforts from distance.
musa then had an even better opportunity to break the deadlock having been put through by an excellent natcho pass, but a heavy first touch allowed eliaquim mangala to get back and make the covering tackle.
within moments the visitors had taken the lead. david silva beat the offside trap, sending edin džeko through on goal, and he unselfishly squared for strike partner sergio agüero to tap in his fifth goal in three games against cska.
seven minutes before half-time it appeared the points were heading to manchester as city doubled their advantage. yaya touré's fine floated ball picked out pablo zabaleta, who knocked down for agüero. the city forward mis-hit his shot, yet it turned into a perfect cross for james milner to slide in.
if cska were rattled and lacking in confidence, their fortunes were revived by the interval introduction of seydou doumbia. the ivorian made his presence felt in the 65th minute, showing great determination to convert musa's perfect centre and breathe new life into the contest.
the hosts continued to press but without further testing joe hart in the city goal, and it seemed the away team would hold on. however, with four minutes left, aleksandar kolarov was adjudged to have fouled doumbia and natcho made no mistake from the spot, leaving city on two points and cska one – with all to play for in manchester on matchday four.
