Manchester City are more comfortable now in the Champions League knockout stages than their first visit in 2014
Pep Guardiola has elevated Manchester City in the Champions League, not just to win the competition but to become serial contenders always challenging in the latter stages.
In Pellegrini's mind, Swedish referee Jonas Eriksson was trying to make up for the fact that he hadn't given Barcelona against AC Milan in their 2012 quarter-final - a performance that had brought unhappiness from their coach Pep Guardiola and the full-blown fury of the Spanish and Catalan press. That led City's mild-mannered manager to angrily confront Eriksson on the pitch after their 2-0 defeat in 2014, and he had not calmed down by the time he spoke to reporters.
"Before the penalty it was a foul on Navas when he was three metres from the play so he could see it. From the beginning I felt the referee was not impartial to both teams. So he decided the game. And after it was not a penalty, it was outside the box." Pellegrini would apologise for his comments soon after, yet they would not spare him from a two-match ban in the competition - including the return leg that saw them knocked out. That result came days after a shock FA Cup defeat at home to Championship side Wigan Athletic as the wheels came off the Quadruple chase all at once.
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