FC Porto vs Dynamo Kyiv - Lopetegui wary of Dynamo Kiev threat

Posted Tuesday, November 24, 2015 by PA

Porto coach Julen Lopetegui insists the Group G leaders are taking nothing for granted ahead of their Champions League clash with Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday.

The Portuguese outfit need only a draw at the Estadio do Dragao to secure qualification for the last 16, while victory would see them win the group if second-placed Chelsea failed to beat Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel.

But Lopetegui, speaking at his pre-match press conference, said: "We go into this match thinking we have not achieved anything yet.

"We will face a good team at a collective level, with a lot of good players and a lot of them part of the Ukrainian national team.

"They play good football. We played well at their place but couldn't get the win.

"We have to give our best both defensively and in attack - to play at our limit - to get a good result.

"We take it game by game, and this is the most important match we have.

"So we will approach it with confidence, knowing that when we do things well, we can put on a good show and get the win."

Dynamo are the only team in the group who have stopped Porto from winning as the two sides fought out a 2-2 draw in Kiev on matchday one.

Sergei Rebrov's side followed that up by beating Maccabi 2-0 in Israel, but picking up only one point from their two games against Chelsea has put them at risk of elimination.

Head coach Rebrov was part of the Dynamo side which reached the last eight of the Champions League in 1998 and the semi-final 12 months later, but the Ukrainian champions have failed to reach the knock-out stage since.

"It's a great achievement to reach the Champions League quarter-finals or semi-finals for a Ukrainian team," Rebrov told the official Dynamo website.

"I think we didn't lose anything, even though we were eventually defeated.

"I see this team's ready. But taking the field they think they face much better players, though I don't see the difference.

"I guess it's important to overcome the psychological barrier."

Dynamo travel to Portugal in good form having won three consecutive matches without conceding in domestic competition since the 3-0 home loss to Shakhtar Donetsk, a defeat which ended their 38-game unbeaten run in the Ukrainian Premier League.

Porto are at full-strength with the exception of Brazilian defender Maicon (thigh) while Dynamo pair Domagoj Vida and Mykola Morozyuk miss out.