• Europa League round-up

City, Rangers and Liverpool crash out of Europa League

Mario Balotelli's red card was influential in Manchester City's disappointing evening against Dynamo Kiev © Getty Images

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Manchester City's Europa League adventure ended before the quarter-final stage after Mario Balotelli's irresponsible red card left them with too much to do in order to overturn Dynamo Kiev's 2-0 first-leg advantage, and they were followed out of Europe by Rangers and Liverpool.

City fought on admirably with 10 men, reducing the deficit to a single goal as Aleksandar Kolarov's strike gave them a 1-0 win on the night, but Balotelli's dangerous first-half challenge and consequential dismissal played a big part in their eventual 2-1 aggregate defeat.

Roberto Mancini had expressed fears of fatigue prior to kick-off, citing his "small squad" as a concern despite being able to field close to £90 million of attacking talent in his starting XI. Carlos Tevez, Balotelli and David Silva formed a three-pronged forward line, and it should have produced a goal inside five minutes.

Micah Richards seemingly had license to thrill from the right fullback position, and one of his early raids saw a mishit shot trickle towards the back post. The crowd drew a sharp intake of breath as Balotelli descended on what appeared to be an open goal, but the Italian leant back and drilled over from six yards.

Things went from bad to worse for Balotelli nine minutes before half-time, when the hot-blooded side of his character came to the fore, raking studs across his marker's chest and down to his leg in an ugly incident that rightly saw a red card produced.

City's task now appeared to be beyond them, yet within two minutes they forged into the lead, with Kolarov's set-piece ability creating a 1-0 half-time scoreline. Running onto a tapped free-kick, Kolarov drilled goalwards through a host of bodies to beat keeper Oleksandr Shovkovskiy, who should have done better.

City knew they needed to score again, and they continued to press forward with Silva smothered by Shovkovskiy. Joleon Lescott cleared off the line as things became desperate for Mancini's men, but another goal would not arrive as Kiev advanced.

Liverpool felt they should have been awarded a penalty against Braga © Getty Images

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Liverpool followed City out of the competition after they failed to break down a stubborn Braga side at Anfield. The Portuguese outfit took a 1-0 lead to Merseyside, and the Reds could not find a leveller despite a handful of good chances.

Kenny Dalglish handed a first Liverpool start to Andy Carroll prior to kick-off, and the towering forward should have capped it with a goal inside the first 10 minutes. Joe Cole had forced the initial save that eventually led to a corner, and Raul Meireles whipped in an ideal delivery only to see Carroll head wide at the back post.

The former Newcastle striker should then have been awarded a penalty in the 21st minute when he was clearly shoved inside the area, but the referee gave a free-kick against the Liverpool man, much to the disgust of the Anfield faithful. Carroll was proving a constant threat, but Dalglish's men needed reminding not to look for their record signing at every opportunity at the expense of good football.

With the aggregate scoreline still in Braga's favour as the hour mark arrived, Meireles wasted a chance Carroll would have devoured when sending a free header over from 12 yards. It was an opportunity the Portuguese should have buried, but Braga missed a better opening moments later as Alan failed to capitalise after a fortunate ricochet had landed at his boot right in front of goal.

Liverpool continued to press, but when Carroll appeared to have finally broken the deadlock his goalbound header was blocked by Dirk Kuyt. From the resulting ball into the box, Martin Skrtel was foiled by the Braga keeper, and with that miss went Liverpool's hopes.

Jeremain Lens grabbed the decisive goal at Ibrox © PA Photos

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Rangers' European dream is over after they succumbed to PSV Eindhoven at Ibrox, losing 1-0 on the night to exit the competition by the same scoreline on aggregate. Walter Smith's men had done superbly to hold out for a goalless first-leg draw in Eindhoven, but they conceded inside 15 minutes on home turf, with Jeremain Lens grabbing a crucial away goal for the visitors.

Rangers were denied a blatant penalty in the second period when the ball was handled on the PSV line, but Eindhoven came closest to a second goal when hitting the woodwork late on.

Also through to the last eight are Benfica, Spartak Moscow, FC Twente, Porto and Villarreal.

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