Manuel Pellegrini Will Leave Manchester City with His Reputation Intact

Sunday will see Manchester City go in search of the point they need to secure UEFA Champions League football—and it will mark the end of Manuel Pellegrini’s time at the club.

The Chilean’s three-year tenure ends after the game at Swansea City, and he will hope to get a better send-off from the 3,000 away supporters than the one he received after his last home match last weekend. The stands emptied quickly, with Pellegrini left to say his farewell speech to a near-empty Etihad Stadium.

It felt somewhat harsh that a man who delivered City their first league-and-cup double during his debut season should be left to say his pre-prepared emotional farewell to just a few fans.

It’s a sign, perhaps, of the rising expectations at City—but also of the feeling of regret permeating the stands. This season’s Premier League campaign has, in the eyes of many, been a disaster, unforgivable given the quality at Pellegrini’s disposal.

His three years have been mixed. The first 18 months saw his side play with a freedom and intensity that made them the most feared side in the Premier League, but the last 18 months have seen clear regression on a worrying scale.

Their vital statistics only serve to underline the point. In Pellegrini’s first season in charge, they won the league with 86 points and scored 102 goals. The following season, when they finished runners-up to Chelsea, they managed 79 points and scored 83 goals. This season, albeit with one match remaining, they have 65 points having scored 70 goals.

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'Manchester City's League decline under Pellegrini' [MEN]. pic.twitter.com/QgZtDpVvz9

— City Watch (@City_Watch) May 12, 2016"

The only progress made in the last 18 months has been in Europe. City perhaps haven’t had the credit they deserve for their run in this season’s UEFA Champions League. Having struggled for four years, they reached the semi-finals this time around and looked far more assured, producing a string of impressive away performances.

It took Chelsea nine attempts to reach the final. Manchester United six. Arsenal have made one final in 19 years, and it took them eight years to do it. City’s progress this season puts them well on track.

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Pellegrini deserves significant credit for that. It was one of his primary objectives when appointed in 2013. City’s owners desperately crave European success to grow their name across the world, to establish them as part of the elite group of teams.

Now that City have shown they have the capability to go deep into the competition, Pep Guardiola is taking over a side far better equipped for European success than the one Pellegrini inherited. That is progress.

On Friday, at his final pre-match press conference at the City Football Academy, Pellegrini launched a vigorous defence of his record, citing the accumulative number of points, goals scored and goal difference over the three years as evidence of City's superiority.

“I always think we can do it better, but the important thing is also to compare with all the other teams,” he said.

“If you make a summary of the three seasons I was in charge here, we were the team that had the most points, the team that had the best performance from a manager.

“We are also the team that in each of the three seasons scored the most goals—the only thing we couldn’t have the best was our defence. That was Chelsea, who conceded just four goals less than our teams.

“The goal difference is huge compared to all the other teams.

“It is very important to be the highest scoring team over the three seasons, and to always be in the Champions League and win three titles.

“I’m happy, but you must always think you can do it better.”

Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

He isn't wrong. City, overall, have been the best team during his three years in English football—but to not win the title this year, when so many fell away early and left the road clear, will forever cast a shadow over his tenure.

Pellegrini believes his time has been a success, using his team's style and the three trophies he's won as evidence. However, there are plenty of fans who believe he's been a disaster, taking the club backwards after Roberto Mancini had done so much good work.

The truth, as is so often the case, lies somewhere in the middle.

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2015/16 season. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @RobPollard.