clinical dinamo moskva punish estoril published: thursday 23 october 2014, 22.54cet estoril praia 1-2 fc dinamo moskva second-half goals from aleksandr kokorin and yuri zhirkov – either side of kléber's missed penalty – cemented dinamo's lead in group e.
• dinamo moskva on the brink of last 32 after third successive win • vladimir gabulov saves weak kléber penalty 16 minutes from time • aleksandr kokorin's 52nd-minute strike hits both posts and goes in • the russian side stretch their unbeaten run in europe to eight games • next games: dinamo moskva v estoril (6 november)
fc dinamo moskva made it three wins out of three in the uefa europa league as estoril praia were left to rue kléber's failure to convert a penalty.
neither goalkeeper had been unduly tested when, with the second half in its infancy, aleksandr kokorin let fly from 25 meters. his low shot swerved away from vagner and skidded off the turf, hit the right post, then the left before rolling over the line. estoril responded well, but kléber's weak penalty was saved by vladimir gabulov and not long after yuri zhirkov made it 2-0. a lovely 95th-minute half-volley from yohan tavares came too late.
the first 51 minutes had bubbled along nicely without ever really bursting to life, a victory for style over attacking substance. both teams, evenly matched, were slick in and around the box, all little feints, flicks and step-overs, but the eventual shots seemed to locate the goalkeepers with unerring magnetism.
kokorin broke the spell in stunning style after the interval, but there was still plenty of work to do as the home side, looking to build on three group e points last time out, came on strong. a penalty after a douglas handball provided a lifeline but kléber squandered it, allowing zhirkov to clinch victory at the other end with a header.
