Manchester City may be on the brink of another early exit from the Champions League but striker Sergio Aguero has vowed to stay at the club until they are crowned European champions.
The Premier League champions are without a win in this season’s edition of Europe’s elite club competition, bottom of their group with just two points from their opening four games.
City have never made it further than the last 16 of the event and must now beat Bayern Munich at home and AS Roma away in their remaining group games to stand a chance of emulating their best European campaign.
Argentina striker Aguero, City’s top scorer with 12 goals in all competitions this season, says that he is willing to stay.
Beyond the new five-year contract he signed in the close season to ensure the team win Europe’s biggest trophy.
“Not only will I stay the four (remaining) years to make it eight here in total, I’ll stay beyond that — until we win it,” he told reporters at the launch of his autobiography Born To Rise.
“We could still be able to put things right (this season) but clearly the group table is not where we want to be and not what we would have expected.
“None of the games have been the real City and I guess that if we don’t turn it around in these last two games you would consider it to be the worst Champions League campaign the club has had.
“What we have to try and ensure is that the real City turn up for the games against Bayern Munich and Roma.”
City manager Manuel Pellegrini oversaw the club’s best European campaign last season, their first foray into the last 16 ended in defeat over two legs to Barcelona.
On other hand coming towards premier league, Diego Costa scored his 10th goal of the campaign as Chelsea continued unbeaten start to the season by winning 2-1 at Liverpool on Saturday.
Bidding to avenge their costly 2-0 loss in last season’s corresponding fixture in April, scene of captain Steven Gerrard’s infamous slip, Liverpool took an early lead through Emre Can’s deflected shot.
But Gary Cahill equalized almost immediately for Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea before Costa slammed home 23 minutes from time to silence Anfield and provisionally increase his side’s lead at the summit to seven points.
Runners-up to Manchester City last season, Liverpool have now lost three successive games in all competitions and trail Chelsea by a huge 15 points.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers restored a host of the first-team players controversially rested for the midweek loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League and saw his team go ahead in the ninth minute.
Can had a shot deflected over by John Terry in the first minute, but Chelsea did not heed the warning and when he took aim from similar range moments later, the ball cannoned off Cahill and into the net.
But within five minutes Chelsea were level, after a goal that required the aid of goal-line technology.
Simon Mignolet parried from Terry at a corner and although the Liverpool goalkeeper got his body fully behind Cahill’s follow-up, Hawk-Eye replays showed that the Belgian had carried the ball over the line.
While Chelsea finished the first half strongly, they were indebted to goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois for getting down sharply to thwart Philippe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling either side of half-time.
Having been embroiled in a physical tussle with Martin Skrtel for much of the game, Costa provided a reminder of his predatory instincts to settle the game in the 67th minute. After eluding Coutinho on the Chelsea left, Cesar Azpilicueta saw his cross pushed out by Mignolet, but Costa was in the right place to rattle a half-volley into the net from close range.
