It was another night of what might have been for Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League.
Roberto Mancini’s side have only themselves to blame after failing to beat Ajax at home, effectively knocking them out of the competition before Christmas for the second year running.
Although there is still a mathematical chance of progression from Group D, City are now relying on beating both Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund and hope results go their way.
Some mad and basic marking misjudgements cost them dearly, as they trailed 2-0 to the Dutch champions after 20 minutes.
The English title holders might have fought back to earn a 2-2 draw and were also denied a blatant penalty in stoppage time but before berating the officials, perhaps they should look at simple defensive tactics and understand what went wrong.
Sloppy from the start
Injuries to Micah Richards and Joleon Lescott didn’t help in the build-up to this crucial game but that is no excuse for the sloppiness shown by the home side from the beginning.
Just 10 minutes had been played when mistake number one from a set piece was exposed. Niklas Moisander won a free header and with the entire defence ball watching, Siem de Jong (pictured scoring) clipped a shot over a despairing Joe Hart from a tight angle.
If that was schoolboy defending, then a pub team would be proud of the marking which led to the visitors’ second goal.
The talented de Jong left Yaya Toure standing in the penalty area, wandered unchallenged to the near post and powered a fantastic header past Hart.
It was as if the hosts had underestimated the Dutch side yet again and lessons clearly hadn’t been learnt from similar drills in Amsterdam two weeks ago.
ITV commentator Andy Townsend called the marking ‘pathetic.’ Many would have to agree with him.
Skipper Vincent Kompany was honest enough at full-time saying: “It is very important we defend as a team from corners and we probably let ourselves down.”
The fightback halted
Hope was rekindled on 22 minutes, when Samir Nasri’s cross wasn’t dealt with effectively by the Ajax defence and Ivorian Toure swivelled and flashed a volley in past a stunned Kenneth Vermeer.
Knowing goals were required, Mancini threw on Mario Balotelli at half-time for the non-existent Javi Garcia.
With 18 minutes left, City drew level at a period of the game when the fightback seemed to have been halted.
Hart’s long ball was flicked on by Balotelli and Sergio Aguero kept his balance and finished in his traditional predatory fashion.
There were still some uncomfortable moments with de Jong testing Hart’s reflexes from distance on two occasions in the second half.
It was nice and refreshing to see a visiting team come to the Etihad and show no fear whatsoever to the occasion.
Although manager Frank de Boer will be disappointed to see a two goal lead slip, there is plenty of confidence and conviction in his young side.
Controversial ending
It does have to be said that the officials had a dismal evening, with the Premier League champions getting little help.
Toure was denied a penalty in the early exchanges when he was clipped in the penalty box by former Liverpool midfielder Christian Poulsen.
It got worse in the closing stages. Aguero had a goal chalked off for a debatable offside decision against substitute Aleksandar Kolarov.
Then with the last kick of the match, Balotelli’s shirt was being tugged at and the Italian went down looking for a penalty that should have been given.
Amazingly, the referee blew for the full-time whistle, leaving City’s players incensed. Their reaction afterwards was understandable but might land them in trouble with UEFA for bringing the game into disrepute.
A furious Mancini told ITV after the game: “The referee and the linesman were very poor. We should have had a penalty and a goal.”
They should have got both but the under pressure boss will need to look at his hopeless defenders more frequently than point the finger at some dodgy decisions from officials.
Ultimately, it was another tough night in Europe for Manchester City. They showed some resilience in fighting back to earn a point but this was a golden opportunity missed.
By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
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