Pellegrini’s damaged legacy

We assess Manuel Pellegrini’s Manchester City legacy as he prepares to make way for Pep Guardiola.

Manuel Pellegrini’s Etihad Stadium farewell rather summed up the mood at Manchester City as they approach the end of his final season in charge. Boos greeted the 2-2 draw with Arsenal as disgruntled fans headed straight for the exits, and when the manager and his players re-emerged from the dressing room, they were met by swathes of empty seats.

It was a sad way for the Chilean to say goodbye after three years at the helm, but the exodus was also an understandable reaction to yet another setback in a season in which City have fallen a long way short of expectations.

Mercifully for City, their Champions League qualification fate is back in their hands after Manchester United’s 3-2 defeat to West Ham at Upton Park. They can guarantee a top-four finish by beating Swansea at the Liberty Stadium on the final day, but even a top-four finish will not mask the sense of deflation about how things have panned out.

How did it come to this? The Capital One Cup triumph over Liverpool ensures the season has at least yielded silverware, but City could not have imagined the collapse that would follow the announcement of Pep Guardiola’s appointment in February. Pellegrini’s men were just three points behind leaders Leicester at the time. The gap now stands at 15.

Even the first Champions League semi-final in their history felt like an anti-climax. Here was an opportunity for Pellegrini’s men to prove they belong on the grandest stage, but their meek surrender at the Bernabeu showed that, for all the investment, they are still no closer to the European elite.

“Pellegrini inherited a team that could win things,” …

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