SWANSEA -- Three points from Swansea 1-1 Manchester City as Manuel Pellegrini's final game in charge ended in all-but-sealing Champions League qualification.
City edge towards Champions League
Pellegrini managed to avoid any final-day mishaps to say farewell to Manchester City with Champions League football all but secured, but only just.
The Chilean took charge of his final game after three years at the club, needing a draw to finish in the top four, and he managed it via a tense and unconvincing draw. Manchester United will need a 19-goal victory against Bournemouth when their final match is played to overtake their rivals.
It was in the balance right until the final kick with City unable to kill off a much-changed Swansea side as the nerves took hold at the Liberty Stadium. It was a disappointing way to finish off a disappointing Premier League campaign but the likely top four finish will go some way to protecting Pellegrini's legacy.
They have failed to maintain a credible title challenge despite their traditional rivals Arsenal, United and Chelsea all massively underperforming. Pellegrini did at least win one trophy, the Capital One Cup, and will be able to reflect that his side reached the semifinals of the Champions League, representing a huge stride forward in Europe for a club that had not gone beyond the round of 16 in five previous attempts.
His side, however, fell over the line after struggling against the Swans. There didn't seem to be any signs of the tense afternoon to come when City quickly took the lead after just five minutes, Kelechi Iheanacho slotting home after Kristoffer Nordfeldt had kept out Sergio Aguero's low shot.
In fact, City looked like they would say goodbye to Pellegrini with the swashbuckling football that was the hallmark of his first season in charge when City were capable of swatting away sides with ease on their way to 102 Premier League goals.
But Aguero and Iheanacho missed good chances to make it comfortable and Swansea slowly edged their way back into the game before drawing level on the stroke of half time when Andre Ayew's 25-yard free-kick deflected off Fernando and past Joe Hart.
It led to a nervous second half and the City players were relieved when referee Mike Dean finally blew the full-time whistle.
Work for Guardiola to do
Quite a few from Pellegrini's final 18-man match day squad will follow him out of City. They started with three players in their 30s, Bacary Sagna, Gael Clichy and Fernandinho, with another four more on the bench.
New boss Pep Guardiola is sure to want to bring youth and freshness into the squad for when he introduces a high-tempo pressing game and plenty of the elder statesmen won't be around to find out why he is regarded as the best coach in the world.
Fernandinho still offers plenty of drive and energy in the centre of midfield and has been one of City's most consistent performers in a season when so many have underachieved. But the future is less-certain for the other senior players.
At Barcelona and Bayern Munich, Guardiola has demanded that his full-backs supplement their attacks and it is questionable whether Sagna, 33, and Clichy, 30, can deliver what the Catalan requires.
Not only that, the pair showed the defensive problems that have troubled City all season, with Swansea's Jefferson Montero causing constant problems to Sagna. The winger was unfortunate to have a goal ruled out for a push on the Frenchman.
Aleksandar Kolarov, Martin Demichelis, Yaya Toure and Willy Caballero were all on the bench and have been linked with moves away from the Etihad.
Guardiola got rid of big names Ronaldinho, Deco and Samuel Eto'o during his early years at the Camp Nou and he could well exhibit his ruthless streak again with City's ageing squad.
Swansea stand-ins serve Guidolin well
While it was the end of the Pellegrini era, Swansea boss Francesco Guidolin has steered his way through a difficult initial period to land a two-year contract at the Liberty. The Italian took over from Garry Monk with the club in 18th and has guided his side to the safety of midtable.
He took the decision on Sunday to rest Euro 2016-bound quartet Ashley Williams, Neil Taylor, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Lukasz Fabianski. It was a curious choice, given there was so much riding on the game with a Swansea victory opening the door for United to qualify for the Champions League.
Ahead of the fixture, United boss Louis van Gaal insisted he was fine with Guidolin's plans. The stand-ins certainly didn't let the Swansea coach down. Swedish keeper Nordfeldt was given his first league start and made a couple of impressive saves from Aguero and Jesus Navas. Elsewhere, Angel Rangel was solid at the back while Montero was the biggest threat on the break.
It mattered little for United, though, and that will lead to further questions over Van Gaal's future at the club.