Man. City go CL bottom after loss at Ajax

Man. City go CL bottom after loss at Ajax

 AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- English champions Manchester City suffered a surprising 3-1 defeat to Ajax in Amsterdam on Wednesday to go bottom in Champions League Group D.

Ajax started the match well and played better than Manchester City in the first 20 minutes. This did not result in open chances, but with some shots from outside of the penalty area the home team revealed its intentions. However, a fast break by Manchester City seemed to end the hope of Ajax immediately.

Micah Richards passed to James Milner and the English midfielder moved up to the Ajax penalty area and found a completely free Samir Nasri on the left side. The French midfielder curled the ball over goalkeeper Kenneth Vermeer into the net.

After that goal in the 22nd minute the confidence of the home team disappeared right away. The visitors took control and Ajax took long to recover from that setback¹. Out of nothing the Amsterdam side did manage to regain² itself in the final minute of the first half. Ricardo van Rhijn's cross was finished convincingly by Ajax captain Siem de Jong.

The second half started with both teams waiting for the other to come. This status quo was broken in the 57th minute. A corner kick by Christian³ Eriksen was headed in by Ajax defender⁴ Niklas Moisander to take a 2-1 lead.

It became worse for the English champions in the 68th minute. Christian Eriksen created space for himself and his shot was deflected⁵ into the net by Gael Clichy, making 3-1 advantage for the Dutch side. Tobias Sana could have secured the victory with a fourth goal, but his shot was saved by goalkeeper Joe Hart.

With two extra strikers, Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli, Manchester City coach Roberto Mancini initiated⁶ a final offensive which resulted in possibilities for Edin Dzeko and Nasri.

However, Ajax were able to hold on and grab their first points in Group D. The Dutch champions are now third with three points after three matches, two more than Manchester City.

Borussia Dortmund lead the group after defeating Real Madrid 2- 1. Dortmund are on seven points, one point ahead of Real. The first two after six matches qualify for the next round of the Champions League, while the number three continues in the Europa League.

1 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

2 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

3 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

4 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

5 deflected   

偏离的

参考例句：

• The ball deflected off Reid's body into the goal. 球打在里德身上反弹进球门。
• Most of its particles are deflected. 此物质的料子大多是偏斜的。

6 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。