Kazan, Russia - A goalless draw between Rubin Kazan and Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday left Group F of the Champions League wide open. Kazan join Inter Milan at the top of the table with six points from their five games, but the Serie A club has played one game less. Kiev, meanwhile, move to five points and are now equal on points with Barcelona.
If the result was not quite what both sides were hoping for, it was certainly a dream result for Inter and Barcelona, as victory for either in Kazan would have placed enormous pressure on the two favourites.
Playing under difficult conditions in temperatures around the freezing point and with strong snow fall in the Centralniy Stadium in Kazan, the home side dominated the first half.
Argentine striker Alejandro Dominguez forced an excellent save from Dynamo goalkeeper Oleksandr Shovkovskiy midway through the half with an overhead kick.
The South American should have done better shortly afterwards when Shovkovskiy failed to hold onto a cross, but Dominguez, who had turned his back on the situation, failed to capitalize from the mistake.
Surprisingly, Rubin let Dynamo control most of the play in the second half and could easily have been punished for their defensive approach.
With just ten minutes to go Dynamo captain Artem Milevskiy came close with a long range effort, that Sergey Ryzhikov did well to push away for a corner.
Inter Milan can make sure of qualifying for the knock-out stage later Tuesday with a victory at Barcelona.
