Champions League: Manchester City on the brink after 2-2 home draw with Ajax

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Christian Eriksen happy to be at Ajax after Manchester City offer

The Denmark international was the subject of an offer from City in 2011, but felt it was too early in his career to be heading to the Etihad Stadium.

Liverpool and Manchester United have also been linked with the midfielder, who impressed against City during Ajax's 3-1 UEFA Champions League win last month.

He will again be a key player when the Dutch giants meet City in the return clash on Tuesday night and the 20-year-old is happy to still be part of Ajax's squad.

"I think many other players would have said 'yes' to City's offer but I had my own reasons for turning them down," said Eriksen in the Sunday Mirror.

"I remember my agent calling me to tell me that they had come in for me but I told him straight away that I did not see any point in moving to Manchester City and I still don't.

"At the end of my career we will see if I took the right decision. But I feel much more at home at a club like Ajax. I really don't want to swap this club for another yet.

"Age-wise I'm still a young boy. But I have played in both the World Cup and the Euros for Denmark.

"If you wanted a clothes size to judge my status, I would say that I am between medium and large. So I still have some growing time to get to XL!"

Prem Snapshot: Hammers stand firm

West Ham defended resolutely to earn a valuable draw against champions Manchester City, who slipped two points behind new leaders Manchester United.

Roberto Mancini's side squandered several chances as a hard-working and well-organised West Ham side held firm.

And it could have been much worse for the champions, with Kevin Nolan's legitimate early goal disallowed for offside, while Yossi Benayoun hit the crossbar.

SELECTION

Sam Allardyce made just one change to his West Ham team, with Joey O'Brien drafted into defence in place of James Tomkins.

City boss Mancini made three changes for the clash, bringing in strikers Mario Balotelli and Edin Dzeko up front, while also handing centre-half Kolo Toure his first league start since August. Mancini also recalled James Milner but the England international was injured in the warm-up so Gareth Barry retained his place in the team.

TACTICS

For West Ham, Allar dyce employed a 4-4-2, with Nolan playing ahead of England striker Andy Carroll at times. This almost paid off, with Nolan having a goal disallowed early on for offside, while Benayoun hit the crossbar. The Hammers then held firm against increasing City dominance through hard work and organisation and continued to look dangerous on the break.

City unleashed Balotelli, Carlos Tevez and Dzeko in the same starting line-up for the first time in a bold 4-3-3 formation. But if the City boss hoped this would unpick the Hammers' defence, he was proved wrong as City created few clear-cut chances despite the lion's share of possession.

SUBSTITUTIONS

Allardyce used his full quota of substitutions towards the end of the game, bringing on Gary O'Neil for the hard-working Mohamed Diame in the 71st minute, Carlton Cole for Carroll upfront, with the big frontman holding the ball up well to take some of the pressure off the hard-worked defence, while Jordan Spence worked hard when he came on for injured defender James Collins late on to help the Hammers hold on for a valuable point.

Mancini also used three substitutes, but despite the deadlock, waited until the 69th minute to replace Balotelli with Sergio Aguero. The Argentinian showed good touches but he failed to provide the spark the City boss was looking for.

Late on, Mancini replaced the lively Tevez with Javi Garcia, who had little impact, while Scott Sinclair had no time to influence proceedings when he came on at the death for Samir Nasri.

REFEREE

Howard Webb let the game flow well, and there could be no complaints about the three yellow cards he handed out, all for late challenges. But the officials got three decisions wrong, including the early goal from Nolan which would have changed the course of the game.

At the other end, Dzeko headed a rebound from close range wide but was flagged offside when he wasn't. And later on, the offic ials missed Barry handling the ball when collecting it in the box but the Hammers were let off when he then shot wide.

MAIN MEN

Tevez was the most potent threat for City against his former club, with the Argentinian proving a real livewire as the champions tried to break through the stubborn Hammers defence.

Tevez showed great touch and vision when linking up with his team-mates, although his crossing from dead-ball situations sometimes left something to be desired.

His place among the Hammers' hearts was shown with the warm applause he received from the Upton Park faithful throughout the game and when he was substituted late on.

James Collins put in a great performance in the heart of the West Ham defence, going that extra mile to keep City out, but the whole of the Hammers' backline deserve praise for the way they held firm in the face of increasing pressure.

Despite hovering around the Hammers' box, City rarely found a way through, with high crosses particularly well cleared. Collins also got a standing ovation as he left the field soon after Tevez.

LOOKING AHEAD

Allardyce was delighted with the resolve his side showed to bounce back from their defeat at Wigan last time.

It earned the Hammers another valuable point in their bid to stay in the top flight this season - with the hosts sitting in eighth in the table on a respectable 15 points from their opening ten games. The Hammers face Newcastle, Tottenham, Manchester United and Arsenal before the turn of the year and Allardyce's side can head into what could prove a testing period with renewed vigour.

For City, Mancini will see this goalless draw - his side's first since Boxing Day - as a one-off blip. The champions fell two points behind Manchester United, but there is still a long way to go in the title race with, like last year, plenty of twists and turns on the way.

Mancini must raise his troops fo r the must-win game against Ajax on Tuesday as City look to give themselves some hope of progressing into the knock-out phases of the UEFA Champions League.

The clash with the Dutch side is the first of four home games for Mancini's side including the mouth-watering meeting with Real Madrid later this month, with league games against Spurs and Aston Villa also on the agenda. Following this run of four home matches is the massive trip to title rivals Chelsea as the games come thick and fast - seven in November.

Manchester City slip to third as West Ham hold on for goalless draw

The champions enjoyed ample possession in east London but their unbeaten start in the Premier League continues to be an underwhelming one and West Ham were denied what seemed a legitimate early goal.

Few more awkward-looking trips before Tuesday's must-win Champions League visit of Ajax could Roberto Mancini have picked out and his side would have gone behind inside five minutes had it not been for a wrongly-raised flag.

Kevin Nolan watched Mark Noble's lofted ball all the way over his right shoulder before lashing a fierce volley past Joe Hart but Sam Allardyce was left raging by the offside decision and he had a point.

Edin Dzeko was dubiously ruled offside at the other end but, in any case, missed his header on the rebound and while the hosts continued to knock the ball about with comfort, City struggled to find their groove.

Mohamed Diame cut inside and blazed goalwards, Yossi Benayoun watched a sidefoot volley hit the bar and Andy Carroll dragged a shot wide but the space Yaya Toure was allowed to stride into at the other end served as a warning.

City's best chance came from a Carlos Tevez inswinger but Mario Balotelli - wasteful on several occasions - lifted the ball over the bar from close-range and Mancini blew out his cheeks in frustration.

The Italian boss glowered in his dug-out for several minutes before his players returned but his verbal volley drew a response. City pressed higher up the pitch and a string of corners came, threatening the breakthrough.

Ex-Hammer Tevez looked like being the man, but sliced across the ball with the goal in his sight, and then Gareth Barry charged into the box only to poke past the post, that miss the cue for Sergio Aguero's introduction.

Jussi Jaaskelainen pushed away a fierce shot from the new boy, and James Collins threw his body in front of blue shirts to preserve a deserved deadlock.

Allardyce punched the air while Ma ncini wore a grimace: it was his side's first goalless draw since Boxing Day.

Mancini had sprung a surprise before kick-off by again tinkering with his starting line-up and the decision to start with Balotelli, Tevez and Dzeko in the same XI for the first time failed to deliver the goods.

After a three at the back experiment cost City against Ajax 10 days ago, Mancini's radical tactics are becoming reminiscent of another Italian, famously dubbed 'The Tinkerman', and we all know what happened to Claudio Ranieri.

He had also handed Kolo Toure his first league start since August and recalled James Milner, although he was forced into a last-minute change when the latter hurt his hamstring in the warm-up and was replaced by Barry.

And, on this evidence, City really will need the "miracle" Mancini predicted to rescue their Champions League campaign, starting in Tuesday's revenge mission against Ajax.

< /tr>

West Ham United	Team Statistics	Manchester City
0	Goals	0
0	1st Half Goals	0
0	Shots on Target	5
5	Shots off Target	12
1	Blocked Shots	5
3	Corners	7
11	Fouls	12
2	Offsides	3
3	Yellow Cards	0
0	Red Cards	0
68.2	Passing Success	87
23	Tackles	9
78.3	Tackles Success	88.9
35	Possession	65
45.7	Territorial Advantage	54.3
283	Total Passes	570
26	Total Crosses	25
164	Lost Balls	160
49	Recoveries	58
37	1st Half Poss.	63
29.7	2nd Half Poss.	70.3

Vincent Kompany takes a long term view over Manchester City's European challenge

The club will probably have to win all three remaining matches in Group D to qualify for the knock-out stages.

After collecting just one point from their opening three games, they now face home ties against Real Madrid and Ajax, plus an away trip to Dortmund.

The Citizens welcome Ajax to the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday desperately needing three points against the Dutch champions yet Kompany is keeping a level head: "Man City will be in the Champions League many more times and will get its chance again.

"But now we have to show that we deserve to be in the Champions League.

"It's a challenge, it was never going to be easy. Any quotes from me will just be positive about what this team can achieve.

"I don't want to participate in the whole dramatising of what is happening here.

"Man City will get there, with or without us. This is just a moment in time where we just have to pull together and get ourselves back on track.

"Bu t we know we are better than what we have shown."

No Mancini denial over Monaco

Claims emerged this week that the Italian had spoken to wealthy French Ligue 2 outfit Monaco with a view to joining them for this season.

Mancini subsequently guided City to the Premier League title and then signed a five-year contract to remain at the Etihad.

Addressing the reports, Mancini said: "Last year I was very close with seven or eight teams but I prefer to stay here.

"I have worked well here for three years. If someone thinks we didn't do a good job - we won three trophies in two years. I am very happy we worked well.

"Now, the next three or four years will be very important for us."

The wealth of City and accompanying expectations have placed Mancini under a lot of pressure but, despite making reference himself to interest from other clubs, he insisted he was not uncertain about his future.

The former Lazio and Inter Milan boss said: "No, my future, I thought always this (that he would stay).

"I signed a contra ct for the next five years because I believe in this squad, because I can work with serious people like the owner and the chairman.

"To work with these people is fantastic. In football it is difficult to find people who work well with the manager. For me it is a fantastic situation. Now, I think we have time to improve and build a team."

Further questions were raised about Mancini's position last weekend when City appointed Spaniard Txiki Begiristain as their new director of football.

Begiristain previously occupied the same role at Barcelona working with Ferran Soriano, who joined City as chief executive in August.

Mancini welcomed the appointment of Begiristain and insisted he is not concerned that former Barca manager Pep Guardiola, who is currently out of work, will follow.

The City boss said: "I am very happy. He has a lot of experience with a top club like Barca. If we did well in the last two years, I think we can do better in the fu ture.

"If people write that Txiki is here and maybe next year Guardiola will arrive or another manager, this is not my problem. I'm here, I want to continue to work well because I think we are ready to improve and build a stronger team."

In announcing Begiristain's appointment, City confirmed he would take responsibility for supporting Mancini in player recruitment, but the Italian added: "This doesn't change anything."

City travel to West Ham tomorrow looking to preserve their record as the only unbeaten team in the Premier League.

Leaders Chelsea suffered their first loss last weekend in controversial fashion against Manchester United, who, like City, are now only a point behind Roberto Di Matteo's side.

The defending champions have come in for plenty of criticism for their form this season, and Mancini said with a smile: "Last week I thought we were in the last position in the table.

"We'll have a good feeling when we're on top. A t the moment we are behind Chelsea and we need to work more."

City still have a lengthy injury list but things have eased slightly with midfielder Javi Garcia (thigh) and full-back Pablo Zabaleta (hamstring) now available while James Milner returns after suspension.

But midfielders David Silva and Jack Rodwell (both hamstring) and defender Maicon (foot) are still out and have been joined by full-back Micah Richards.

The England international suffered a knee injury against Swansea last weekend that resulted in him being carried off with an oxygen mask over his face, and Richards then said he feared a lay-off of up to four months after going under the knife.

But on Friday Mancini predicted Richards could be back in three weeks, saying: "I think maybe - it is my opinion - three or four weeks. I read three months but I don't know why. One month - maximum."

Zabaleta fit to face Hammers

The Premier League champions feared having no fit specialist right-back after Micah Richards last week joined Zabaleta and Maicon on the injury list.

But Zabaleta, after sitting out three matches with a hamstring injury suffered on international duty, is now ready to return.

The 27-year-old told the club's website: "I feel good, I've been training with the team and I think I should be fine to play on Saturday.

"We have some problems in defence at the moment. We've had three full-backs injured over the past few months, so it is great to be back with the team."

Brazil international Maicon has made just two appearances since his August deadline day move from Inter Milan after suffering a foot injury in the Champions League loss at Real Madrid.

Richards missed the start of the season with an ankle problem sustained representing Great Britain at the Olympics and had been in just his fourth game back when injured last weekend.

The 24-year-old required surgery and faces up to 16 weeks on the sidelines after going down in agony clutching his knee late in the 1-0 win over Swansea at the Etihad Stadium.

Zabaleta said: "It's very disappointing for Micah.

"He's been injured from the start of the season, then he came back and was playing well, but now he has this knee injury.

"This is a time when he has to be extra strong. Obviously it is difficult physically, but also mentally it is very tough when you are injured, you have to stay very strong."

Midfielder Javi Garcia is also hoping to prove his fitness for the weekend after four games out with a thigh injury.