MANCHESTER: Manager City boss Roberto Mancini admitted he was disappointed not to see his side top the Premier League following their 2-1 defeat to Everton at City of Manchester this morning.

City had the chance to move to the top of the table at Christmas for the first time in 81 years but they were stung early on by two goals in the first 20 minutes by Tim Cahill and Leighton Baines for the visitors.

Mancini received a welcome boost earlier in the day with Carlos Tevez committing his future to the club, but his side, and his star striker, failed to convert their chances, having 25 shots at goal and only seeing one go in.

That too via an own goal by Phil Jagielka in the 72nd minute when the defender tried to stop a Yaya Toure cross.

Mancini felt the game had very much been an opportunity missed, bemoaning their inability to make their dominance count and saying their response must be a swift one.

"We have missed a big opportunity to go top and I think we are disappointed because we had a lot of chances to score a goal," Mancini told Sky Sports.

"Football is unbelievable but the season is long and we must now start again. There are three more games this month.

"Maybe in the first-half we started not very well, but they had only two chances and scored two goals, the same as against Everton last year."

The Italian admitted that Tevez's decision to withdraw his transfer request was the only comfort he could take from a tough night.

"We are happy for this. This is the only good news of the evening."

Tevez withdrew his transfer request and expressed his "absolute commitment" to City following clear-the-air talks.

The Argentine had earlier handed in a formal transfer request on Dec 11 which City rejected.

"During the meeting Tevez expressed his absolute commitment to the club and formally withdrew his transfer request. His contract remains unchanged and both Tevez and the football club are keen to focus on the opportunities that lie ahead," said a City statement.

Mancini was furious with rightback Pablo Zabaleta after the defeat to Everton.

He was particularly annoyed with the length of time Zabaleta was off the pitch receiving treatment following a clash of heads with Cahill.

"It is impossible for one player to spend eight minutes in the dressing room," he said.

"He should have been back more quickly or we should change the player. I thought he would have been back after one or two minutes."

It was during this period that the Toffees got their second goal.

LONDON: Midfielder David Beckham (pic) wants to play for a European club this winter in a bid to win back his England place.

Beckham has spent the last two winters on loan from LA Galaxy at AC Milan but accepts that move will not happen again and he has ruled out all Premier League clubs apart from Manchester United.

"I won't be going back to Milan this time because it is not possible to go onto the roster for such a short length of time," he said.

"But I will be going back somewhere as I want to keep myself fit and keep myself in with a chance of getting called up for England again. To do that, I have to be somewhere so fingers crossed I can sort something out."

Beckham, whose Major League Soccer season with the LA Galaxy does not begin again until March, trained with Arsenal in the past to regain his fitness but he will resist offers to play for any other Premier League club apart from United, and he concedes the chances of that are remote.

"I have always missed playing in the Premier League since I left it almost eight years ago. It is a great league and one of the most competitive in the world. Maybe one day I will come back here but I have always said that it will only be for United. I am not holding my breath on that one, but we will have to wait and see.

"But definitely not Preston (where he played on loan as a teenager) — it's too cold up there!"

Beckham has not played for England since suffering a torn Achilles tendon last March that kept him out of the World Cup in South Africa, but he made a successful return for the Galaxy.

"My body feels great after my injury. I always said I needed to get that back into order and keep my fitness and we will see," he said.

"I love the game and am not done with playing the game yet. I might be 35 years old but I still feel that I can play at the top level for another couple of years. Hopefully, I can do that."