Manuel Pellegrini faces the first major test of his Champions League credentials as Manchester City manager on Wednesday when his side tackle defending champions Bayern Munich at the Etihad Stadium.
City have been eliminated from the Champions League at the group phase in the past two seasons and one of the reasons why Pellegrini was selected to succeed Roberto Mancini was his track record at continental level.
Real Madrid went out in the last 16 under Pellegrini’s stewardship in 2010, but he steered modest Villarreal to the semi-finals in 2006 and led Malaga to the quarter-finals last season.
In all-conquering German and European champions Bayern, Pellegrini could not have asked for a more demanding first European home fixture with City.
However, having worked in Spain for the duration of Bayern coach Pep Guardiola’s spectacular four-year tenure at Barcelona, the 60-year-old Chilean believes he knows how to get the better of him.
“It is very difficult at this moment to improve with Bayern because they won the last three competitions, but he [Guardiola] will find a way because he is a very good manager,” said Pellegrini.