An Aleksander Kolarov strike proved not enough as ten-men Man City crashed out of the Europa League.
Balotelli off, Kolarov scores but Kiev hold on to qualify
A first-half Aleksander Kolarov strike proved not enough as ten-men Manchester City crashed out of the Europa League to Dynamo Kiev.
Trailing 2-0 from the first leg, Mario Balotelli missed a good chance from close range early on at Eastlands and then suffered a moment of madness when getting sent off for a high tackle on Goran Popov on 36 minutes.
But Kolarov gave Roberto Mancini's side renewed hope three minutes later when his low effort from a short free-kick went through a sea of bodies and into the net.
City pressed in the second period and almost pushed the tie into extra time but Carlos Tevez could not divert Yaya Toure's free-kick into the net in injury time.
The UEFA Europa League exit means Roberto Mancini's men now have to focus on the fight for a Champions League spot, knowing their only realistic chance of silverware now lies in the FA Cup, where they will face arch-rivals Manchester United in a Wembley semi-final next month.
Having suffered an allergic reaction to the grass in Kiev, Balotelli was restored to the City starting line-up, with Mancini doubtless expecting a more meaningful contribution.
The controversial Italian should have achieved that aim after only four minutes.
Superb pass
David Silva flicked a superb pass to Micah Richards, who quickly curled a low cross to the far post.
The only words of redemption were that Balotelli ended up with less time than it initially appeared he would have as Dynamo defenders closed in.
Still, inside the six-yard box, the 20-year-old should have found the net instead of lifting a woefully disappointing effort over the bar.
What a difference that would have made to the tie.
It allowed Kiev to settle into a rhythm of soaking up pressure, whilst attempting to hit their opponents on the break to grab an away goal that would kill the contest.
Balotelli then had another chance, heading Kolarov's corner over from inside the box and next got in the way of a Silva piledriver that was off target anyway.
The Italian was then rightly dismissed for a high tackle on Popov which left referee Cuneyt Cakir with no option but to send him off.
Quirky nature
It seemed like the end of any hopes City had of progressing but such is the quirky nature of the club they halved the deficit almost instantly.
Kolarov strode onto a short free-kick with relish and belted a low shot through a crowded penalty area which caught goalkeeper Oleksandr Shovkovskyi by surprise as it flew past his attempt to save.
After spending so long complaining of the tiredness being felt by his squad, Mancini was now faced with the prospect of urging his remaining ten-men for greater effort.
Richards powered a header over after climbing to reach Silva's free-kick, before the Spain star attempted to check back onto his left foot after an opening had been created that invited an effort with his right.
Amid a growing number of yellow cards, Joleon Lescott headed a Denys Garmash effort off the line, not long after the Kiev man had replaced Andriy Shevchenko.
Adam Johnson returned from injury with 19 minutes to go, while Edin Dzeko followed soon afterwards as Mancini shed his cautious image.
But with legs tiring badly, the urgency had disappeared from City's play.
Dzeko did create one last chance for himself in stoppage time but neither he - nor Tevez from Toure's free-kick - could prevent the Blues from bowing out.
