Delighted Pellegrini guides City to Wembley final

Manager Manuel Pellegrini said he was ´very proud´ after guiding Manchester City to the League Cup final in his first year in charge.

London – The Citizens had already thrashed West Ham 6-0 at home in the first leg of their semi-final to virtually book their Wembley tickets, but they didn´t show the Hammers any mercy in the return in East London.

Two goals from Álvaro Negredo and one from Sergio Agüero secured a 3-0 victory at Upton Park and continued City´s storming season. They are second in the Premier League, in the last 16 of the Champions League – where they will meet Barcelona – and in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

They´ve scored a whopping 106 goals and are setting records galore.

It means Chilean Pellegrini is through to his first final after almost a decade in Europe. The 60-year-old previously managed Villareal, Real Madrid and Malaga in Spain.

City could meet arch-rivals Manchester United in the final at Wembley on March 2. The Red Devils host Sunderland in the second leg of their semi-final tonight and need to overturn a 2-1 first leg deficit.

Pellegrini said: “Wembley is a special place for every manager and I´m very proud. It was a good way to get to the final. The team put in a very professional performance and I´m very happy about that.”

However, it wasn´t all good news for the Chileans in action on Tuesday night. Juventus – featuring Arturo Vidal and Mauricio Isla – were knocked out of the Italian Cup after losing 1-0 against Roma in the quarter-finals.