Kiev: They had been the Champions League’s kings of the late surprise earlier in the season, but Besiktas had no answer to a 6-0 onslaught from Dynamo Kiev as they were eliminated from the competition Tuesday in a blitz that left goalkeeper Fabricio crying after conceding the back-breaking fourth goal.
The game was all but over by half-time in Ukraine, with Besiktas four goals down, and the Turkish champions finished with nine men following two red cards. The game was marred by fan violence in and around the stadium.
Besiktas showed no sign of the never-say-die spirit that had characterised the team’s Champions League campaign, with a late win over Napoli and a 3-3 draw from being 3-0 down against Benfica last time out.
Instead, they slumped to a heavy defeat in a mostly empty stadium against a Dynamo team that was already sure to finish last in Group B, but that recorded their biggest Champions League win.
Besiktas needed a win to go through thanks to group winner Napoli’s 2-1 victory at Benfica.
But Besiktas supporters are absolutely furious at Scottish referee Craig Thomson.
Dynamo’s star winger Andriy Yarmolenko started the night’s torment for Besiktas with smart footwork on the byline and a cross to the far post for Artyom Besedin to score the ninth-minute opener.
Besiktas looked lively for the next 20 minutes until defender Andreas Beck was controversially dismissed for a collision with Derlis Gonzalez, who was through on goal for Dynamo. However, it appeared Gonzalez was the one who barged into Beck.
Yarmolenko scored the resulting penalty and Vitaliy Buyalskiy soon made it 3-0 with a lobbed effort after a Besiktas defensive mix-up.
A deflected shot from Gonzalez provided Dynamo’s fourth in first-half stoppage time, and Serhiy Sydorchuk added the fifth in the 60th with a shot on the rebound, shortly after Besiktas striker Vincent Aboubakar was red-carded for a second offence. He booted the ball far behind the goal in frustration and was promptly flashed another yellow followed by red by Thomson.
Junior Moraes made it 6-0 before Dynamo twice hit the woodwork.
Hundreds of Besiktas fans took to Twitter as they fumed at the whistler, with most of their comments containing several messages of profanity.
There were also confrontations between Besiktas fans and police inside the stadium during the game, but no indication of major violence.
However, Ukrainian media said as many as 300 fans were involved in a mass brawl in a street near the stadium. Video footage posted online appeared to show a crowd of fans shouting Dynamo slogans and using sticks and pyrotechnics as weapons.
The win could prove a morale-booster for Dynamo, with the team’s struggles in Europe being mirrored by troubles at home, with the Ukrainian champions 10 points off league leaders Shakhtar Donetsk.
Eliminated from the Champions League, Besiktas will reluctantly take their place in the Europa League after finishing third in the group. —Agencies
