Tuesday, 6th November, 2012
Manchester City are on the verge of another early exit from the Champions League after they could only draw 2-2 against Ajax at the Etihad Stadium.
Roberto Mancini’s men knew they had to secure victory to keep alive any realistic hopes of qualifying for the Round of 16, as they entered the contest bottom of Group D with just a single point.
Their hopes took an early blow though when Ajax opened the scoring in the 10th minute through Siem de Jong.
The Ajax captain then added another just seven minutes later, taking advantage of poor marking from the Citizens’ defence to double the visitors’ lead.
Manchester City hit back quickly though, as Yaya Toure got on the scoresheet in the 22nd minute – and the two teams headed in at half time with the scoreline 2-1.
Mancini showed he knew the seriousness of the situation by bringing striker Mario Balotelli on for midfielder Javi Garcia for the second half and the Citizens did score, levelling the match through Sergio Aguero with 74 minutes on the clock.
The English champions then flooded forward in search of a late winner.
relatedNewsStoryAnd they thought they had found it when Aguero found the back of the net from an Aleksandar Kolarov cross, but the referee ruled it out for offside.
Mancini’s men also had a penalty appeal turned down, with Balotelli complaining of shirt-tugging in the area.
Now the Citizens face a truly huge order to qualify.
With Real Madrid having drawn against Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City now need to win their final two games, at home against the Spaniards and away against the Germans, while hoping Dortmund beat Ajax and that the Dutch outfit can draw away against Los Blancos.
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