Manuel Pellegrini will take charge of his last game as Manchester City manager when his side travel to Wales to take on Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium this weekend. Manchester United’s loss to West Ham means that City will only need a point to secure Champions League football next season.
Despite facing a lot of criticism throughout, the Citizens will consider this season to be a reasonable success.
This season has witnessed Chelsea’s spectacular fall from grace, while Manchester United’s injury hit-season that might have cost them a place in the Champions League. Arsenal and Tottenham were, at a stage title favourites, only for both sides to stumble allowing Leicester City comfortably clinch the title.
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It has been a long and hard season for many clubs but Pellegrini has led City to a Capital One Cup triumph, a highly propable top four position, as well as being the only English side to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League.
The Chilean arrived in Manchester in 2013 following a successful stint with Spanish side Malaga, becoming the first ever Chilean to manage in the Premier League. The 62-year-old won three major honours since, including a league and FA Cup double in his first season. City ended the 2014-15 season trophy-less in what fuelled speculation leading to the appointment of Pep Guardiola from next season onwards.
Pellegrini has also helped revamp City after the Roberto Mancini era.
While the club still have work to do defensively, the Chilean has worked towards cutting out the deadweight in the squad and has managed to bring in world class talent.He signed the likes of Bacary Sagna, Fernando, Fernandinho, Jesus Navas, Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling, all of whom are now an integral part of the City squad.
Edin Dzeko, Stevan Jovetic and Alvaro Negredo all left under the watch of Pellegrini, while even more high profile exits are tipped upon Guardiola’s arrival, notably talisman Yaya Toure.
Despite extending his contract to 2017 at the start of the season, Pellegrini himself announced that he would depart the club after the season ends and will be replaced by Guardiola.
The Chilean waved goodbye to the Etihad last week with a farewell speech following the final whistle. With only a point to get at Swansea, Pellegrini can leave the club with a parting gift to the new manager by ensuring that the Sky Blues will play in the top tier of European competition.
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