The comedy club is open for business
again. Those who follow Manchester City thought they had left such days
behind. Heading into work, prepared for the worst, the gags, the
punchlines, the old school sneers.
They will be taking plenty on Thursday morning, though. In a throwback to the wilderness years, City's ambitions were exposed so ruthlessly and thoroughly here that it was almost possible to hear the sniggers from the red half of Manchester filtering across the North Sea.
By way of retort, it could be argued that Manchester United, indeed no English team, would fare too well in the rarefied atmosphere of Champions League Group D.
Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Ajax
and City: the champions of Spain, Germany, Holland and England
congregated. And this would be true. But, even so, nobody was expecting
City to capitulate quite like this.
It is pointless doing the mathematics over whether they will now have to defeat Madrid at home or Dortmund away to qualify, because they must overcome Ajax first. On this evidence, it could be that City are as good as done with two matches to spare; it could be that they are the rabbits here, the equivalent of the minor country minnows allowed in by Michel Platini's format change.
Yet many of those, the products of Belarus or Cyprus, or previously obscure names like Nordsjaelland from Denmark, have been punching above their weight.
City, by contrast, could drop from heavy to bantam and still barely land a blow. The risk of a new 4-2-1-3 system notwithstanding, they were outplayed here, just as they were by Real away and Dortmund at home, using more familiar tactics.
Far from improving in the Champions League, City have looked increasingly inept second time around. Given the ambition at the club, and the planned next stage in their development, this could be a watershed match for some in Mancini's squad, not least England centre half Joleon Lescott.
It was hard to imagine what zone Lescott thought he was marking for Ajax's crucial second goal on Wednesday night. The Demilitarized Zone, perhaps. The Zone of Alienation, placed around the site of the Chernobyl disaster. Zone, an ancient city in western Thrace, maybe.
Whichever zone it was, it certainly
wasn't the one inhabited by Ajax defender Niklas Moisander. A pity,
really, as that was the only zone that mattered.
Had Lescott made a better fist of guarding it, the game might not have got away from City so spectacularly in the second half. And he would not have seen his number come up with close to 30 minutes of play remaining.
Mancini can be brutal in his assessments and by 63 minutes he had clearly tired of a performance from Lescott that was inattentive at best, hapless at worst. The deciding factor, Ajax's second goal, came when Moisander ghosted into the zonal area Lescott was supposed to protect to meet a Christian Eriksen corner.
Lescott did contest the header but from an arm's length away, such was his dream-like state. Five minutes later he was history; as were City.
Ajax's third goal put emphatic distance between the teams. This time, the circumstances were fortunate. Eriksen's shot appeared to take two deflections on its way to goal - the last, and most fatal, off Gael Clichy - leaving Joe Hart with no chance.
Having said that, quite how a player of his talent was allowed to carry the ball so far before shooting is a mystery. City seem to have lost their way as a defensive unit and in this company that is always going to be costly.
It was one of those halves that infuriates the purists, one in which City proved that having the ball is at times an over-rated quality. For more than 20 minutes, the game belonged to Ajax. They moved better, thought better, a blur of neat interchanges and insightful thinking. City laboured in their wake.
And then from their first attack of merit, the visitors scored. James Milner took the ball across field and fed it to Samir Nasri, whose clinical shot gave not a sliver of hope to Ajax goalkeeper Kenneth Vermeer.
Just 14 minutes later the two players combined again for what should have been City's second of the night, but Nasri made a hash of his first touch and allowed the hosts to recover. Micah Richards also forced a save from Vermeer. His was a good shot, but it should have been more.
Siem de Jong got in front of Milner but only because the midfielder woke up to the danger quicker than those around him. All appeared to be caught off guard, allowing de Jong to finish smartly across his body.
It was a well-taken goal, but deeply unimpressive from City. A side that were so resolute in defence for much of last season has become inexplicably sloppy.
Those who condemn City's entry into the elite will be much amused.
Yet one interesting aside: early in the match, Ajax supporters unfurled two banners. The first read 'Against modern football', the second was a broad caricature of an Arab holding out a bag of cash, with a red line through the image.
Yet if a Jew had been depicted in such crude cartoon satire, or a black man, there would have been uproar. Arabs, it would seem, are fair game.
On another night marked by UEFA's pledge to Unite Against Racism, and amid the undoubted beauty of Ajax's display, you may pause to consider what constitutes dissent and what bigotry.
They will be taking plenty on Thursday morning, though. In a throwback to the wilderness years, City's ambitions were exposed so ruthlessly and thoroughly here that it was almost possible to hear the sniggers from the red half of Manchester filtering across the North Sea.
By way of retort, it could be argued that Manchester United, indeed no English team, would fare too well in the rarefied atmosphere of Champions League Group D.
The floodgates are open: Christian Eriksen delights in scoring the third Ajax goal
Double up: Niklas Moisander heads in Ajax's second goal
It is pointless doing the mathematics over whether they will now have to defeat Madrid at home or Dortmund away to qualify, because they must overcome Ajax first. On this evidence, it could be that City are as good as done with two matches to spare; it could be that they are the rabbits here, the equivalent of the minor country minnows allowed in by Michel Platini's format change.
Yet many of those, the products of Belarus or Cyprus, or previously obscure names like Nordsjaelland from Denmark, have been punching above their weight.
City, by contrast, could drop from heavy to bantam and still barely land a blow. The risk of a new 4-2-1-3 system notwithstanding, they were outplayed here, just as they were by Real away and Dortmund at home, using more familiar tactics.
Far from improving in the Champions League, City have looked increasingly inept second time around. Given the ambition at the club, and the planned next stage in their development, this could be a watershed match for some in Mancini's squad, not least England centre half Joleon Lescott.
It was hard to imagine what zone Lescott thought he was marking for Ajax's crucial second goal on Wednesday night. The Demilitarized Zone, perhaps. The Zone of Alienation, placed around the site of the Chernobyl disaster. Zone, an ancient city in western Thrace, maybe.
Potent: Ajax took Man City to pieces at the back
Roar: Moisander celebrates his important goal
Beaten: Joe Hart watches as Siem De Jong's strike hits the net
Centre half Niklas Moisander ghosts into space and out-jumps Lescott, who seems stumped by the zonal marking system.
Had Lescott made a better fist of guarding it, the game might not have got away from City so spectacularly in the second half. And he would not have seen his number come up with close to 30 minutes of play remaining.
Mancini can be brutal in his assessments and by 63 minutes he had clearly tired of a performance from Lescott that was inattentive at best, hapless at worst. The deciding factor, Ajax's second goal, came when Moisander ghosted into the zonal area Lescott was supposed to protect to meet a Christian Eriksen corner.
Lescott did contest the header but from an arm's length away, such was his dream-like state. Five minutes later he was history; as were City.
Ajax's third goal put emphatic distance between the teams. This time, the circumstances were fortunate. Eriksen's shot appeared to take two deflections on its way to goal - the last, and most fatal, off Gael Clichy - leaving Joe Hart with no chance.
Having said that, quite how a player of his talent was allowed to carry the ball so far before shooting is a mystery. City seem to have lost their way as a defensive unit and in this company that is always going to be costly.
Steered home: Samir Nasri opened the scoring for the visitors
And yet City took the lead here and had a little spell soon after when they could have been two, maybe three, up. It was one of those halves that infuriates the purists, one in which City proved that having the ball is at times an over-rated quality. For more than 20 minutes, the game belonged to Ajax. They moved better, thought better, a blur of neat interchanges and insightful thinking. City laboured in their wake.
And then from their first attack of merit, the visitors scored. James Milner took the ball across field and fed it to Samir Nasri, whose clinical shot gave not a sliver of hope to Ajax goalkeeper Kenneth Vermeer.
Just 14 minutes later the two players combined again for what should have been City's second of the night, but Nasri made a hash of his first touch and allowed the hosts to recover. Micah Richards also forced a save from Vermeer. His was a good shot, but it should have been more.
Good work: The French midfielder is congratulated by his colleagues (and below)
Pegged back: De Jong (left) celebrates his equaliser
And so they were made to pay. Shortly
before half-time, Ajax levelled as City slept. Ricardo van Rhijn's
cross from the right was low and difficult but City's defence was
sluggish and unaware. Siem de Jong got in front of Milner but only because the midfielder woke up to the danger quicker than those around him. All appeared to be caught off guard, allowing de Jong to finish smartly across his body.
It was a well-taken goal, but deeply unimpressive from City. A side that were so resolute in defence for much of last season has become inexplicably sloppy.
Leap: Micah Richards strains to head the ball
Blocked off: Nasri is kept away from the ball
Vincent Kompany is
certainly not the rock of a year ago, and Lescott, as mentioned earlier,
is an accident-in-waiting. A horribly underhit pass could have let Ajax
in early on, had Kompany not moved fast to snuff out the threat.Those who condemn City's entry into the elite will be much amused.
Yet one interesting aside: early in the match, Ajax supporters unfurled two banners. The first read 'Against modern football', the second was a broad caricature of an Arab holding out a bag of cash, with a red line through the image.
Good start: Nasri sees his strike fly in
Concerns: Roberto Mancini will need to solve the problem of his leaky defence
It was clearly a protest against the
influence of new wealth; Ajax preferring the old ways, football grown
from the roots up (and kept as a preserve of a wealthy elite).Yet if a Jew had been depicted in such crude cartoon satire, or a black man, there would have been uproar. Arabs, it would seem, are fair game.
On another night marked by UEFA's pledge to Unite Against Racism, and amid the undoubted beauty of Ajax's display, you may pause to consider what constitutes dissent and what bigotry.
Benched: Mario Balotelli was not selected to start
Ready to go: The Amsterdam ArenA before kick-off*****
