City's patchwork lineup does the job in Rome

Pellegrini hails squad's resilience after securing CL knockout slot

Manuel Pellegrini celebrated Manchester City's remarkable brinkmanship in securing a Champions League knockout spot on Wednesday by hailing the champion's unsung heroes rather than its absent leading players.

The unruffled Chilean, who must have feared a quick exit before his side made a remarkable comeback against Bayern Munich last month, almost made it sound as if City's 2-0 win at Roma was merely routine.