Nick Wright assesses Manuel Pellegrinis Manchester City legacy as he prepares to make way for Pep Guardiola... Manuel Pellegrinis 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. Manuel Pellegrini waved goodbye to City fans on Sunday after his final game at the Etihad Mercifully for City, their Champions League qualification fate is back in their hands after Manchester Uniteds 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 Guardiolas appointment in February. Pellegrinis men were just three points behind leaders Leicester at the time. The gap now stands at 15. Manuel Pellegrini and Yaya Toure pose with the Premier League trophy after Man Citys 2013/14 title triumph Even the first Champions League semi-final in their history felt like an anti-climax. Here was an opportunity for Pellegrinis 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, said Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness on Sunday. Then he spent £200m net, now he is leaving and how much further down the road is this team than when he walked in? Are they better? Have they stagnated? Or are they worse? What do the challengers need? Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man Utd, Man City and Tottenham - what do they need to win the title? They are awkward questions for Pellegrini, who looked well positioned to dominate English football after guiding City to the Premier League title in a stellar 2013/14 campaign. The softly-spoken Chilean succeeded in repairing a squad left fractured by his confrontational predecessor Roberto Mancini, with City pipping Liverpool and Chelsea in a thrilling title race and securing the Capital One Cup with a 3-1 win over Sunderland. Manuel Pellegrini will be replaced by current Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola this summer Delivering the first league and cup double in Citys history was an achievement for which their understated manager probably deserved greater credit. It was done in style, too. Pellegrinis men thrilled supporters with devastating attacking football, and a total of 102 goals scored ranked as the second-highest in Premier League history. In all competitions, they struck a record-breaking 156 goals, and thoughts immediately turned to the future after they wrapped up the season with 2-0 win at home to West Ham. Big teams cannot be satisfied with one title, said Pellegrini in his post-match press conference. This club and players deserve more titles. Manuel Pellegrini guided Man City to a second Capital One Cup win this season City and their ambitious owners wanted dominance, but in the end the achievements of 2013/14 have been overshadowed by disappointment. City were joint-top of the Premier League midway through Pellegrinis second year in charge, but their challenge faded in the second half of the season, and there were cup exits too. They did finish as the Premier Leagues leading scorers for the second year running as they netted 83 goals, but it was the first time since 2009/10 since they had failed to win silverware. A steady decline was in motion, and the sense of underachievement has grown this season. Not since 2008/09 have City lost 10 Premier League games in a single campaign. Man Citys Premier League decline under Pellegrini Season Won Drawn Lost Goals for Goals against Points Position 2013/14 27 5 6 102 37 86 1st 2014/15 24 7 7 83 38 79 2nd 2015/16 19 8 10 70 40 65 4th Pellegrini, of course, is not solely responsible for Citys plight, with player recruitment a constant source of frustration. Last seasons signings of Eliaquim Mangala and Wilfried Bony have not worked out, and this year Nicolas Otamendi and Raheem Sterling have also struggled to live up to their huge price-tags.But while Citys aging squad contains 11 players aged 30 or over, there is still far more quality within its ranks than their league positions suggests. Pellegrini has been unable to get the best out of them, and Citys dismal record of no wins from 10 games against the top-six opponents is a damning indictment of the man making the decisions in the dug-out. Is Laporte the answer? Athletic Bilbaos Aymeric Laporte is a Man City target. Is he the answer to their defensive woes? Pellegrini can, of course, point to the destabilising effect of the Guardiola announcement as a mitigating factor - and it certainly seems as though certain players have taken their eyes of the ball - but he cannot deny that the decline started long before February.So while Pellegrini will be fondly remembered for the moments to savour in his unforgettable first season, he leaves having failed in his task to take City to the next level. The sparse crowd that stayed for his farewell speech told a tale. Guardiola has plenty of work to do to get them to where they want to be. Also See: What do the challengers need? Is Laporte the answer? Who gets into Europe? City-Arsenal talking points Reds Jerseys China . -- For the first time in two months, an opponent was standing up to Alabama. Custom Reds Jersey China . As he recorded his 23rd and 24th points of the evening, a segment of the sellout Air Canada Centre crowd expressed their appreciation for the Raptors point guard with a smattering of MVP chants. http://www.customredsjersey.com/ . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. Custom Johnny Bench Jersey . -- If Henry Burris has his way, he will be the starting quarterback to lead the Hamilton Tiger-Cats back to the Grey Cup next year. Custom Reds Jerseys . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. 1 Number of New Zealand bowlers to get to 100 Test wickets in fewer matches than Neil Wagner, who achieved the feat in his 26th match. Richard Hadlee had achieved the milestone in 25 Tests. Wagners current bowling partners Tim Southee and Trent Boult both got to 100 wickets in 29 matches. Wagner is the 14th New Zealand bowler to take 100 or more Test wickets.80 Pakistans score at the end of 50 overs - the lowest for them in Tests since 2001 (where ball-by-ball data is available). The previous-lowest for them was 83 against Sri Lanka in Sharjah in 2011-12. Their 80 in Christchurch is the sixth lowest score in 50 overs for any team since 2001.17.91 Azhar Alis strike rate in his 173-ball 31 - the lowest by any Pakistan opener who has faced 100 or more balls in an innings.2002The last instance of the first-innings totals of both teams in a Test in New Zealand aggregating fewer than the 333 runs in this match: Hamilton, where India (99) and New Zealand (94) had managed only 193 runs. The first innings-aggregate in this match is the joint sixth-lowest in a Test in New Zealand.3 Runs scored by Younis Khan in this Test - the llowest by him in any match across two innings.dddddddddddd His previous-lowest was 5: against Australia in 2002 and New Zealand in 2014-15, both coming in Sharjah. Only one No. 4 batsman for Pakistan has aggregated fewer runs in a Test while batting in both innings - 0 by Javed Burki in Wellington in 1964-65.3/43 Mohammad Amirs figures in the first innings - his best since his comeback in 13 innings. This is also his first three-wicket haul against New Zealand in seven innings.2010 Last time when Pakistan were five down for less than 100 runs in both innings of a Test. They had endured this in each of the three Tests in England in 2010. Pakistan lost their fifth wicket on 88 in the first innings and on 93 in the second innings of the Christchurch Test.0 Number of three-wicket hauls for Trent Boult in his last 11 Test innings at home. He finally managed one in the second innings of this match. His last such haul at home also came in Christchurch, against Sri Lanka in Boxing Day Test in 2014. ' ' '