Aguero winner reignites Man City's Champions League hopes

Roberto Mancini could not hide his delight after Sergio Aguero's last-gasp winner

Manchester City 2-1 Villarreal


Roberto Mancini's celebration after Sergio Aguero's 93rd-minute winner for Manchester City against Villarreal last night said it all: his side had got out of jail.

If the Argentinean had not been there to tap in James Milner's cross, City would have been staring at Champions League elimination, left for dead by Bayern Munich and Napoli.

Aguero's winner though has given them a reprieve.

Their path to the knockout stage will still not be an easy one - they will most likely have to win in Spain and get something from their away game at Napoli - but at least the situation is retrievable.

City fans may not like to admit it, but they showed a Manchester United-like trait by scoring their last-gasp winner.

So often in the past Sir Alex Ferguson's side have kept going to the end and eventually got what they wanted, and now Mancini seems to have instilled a similar winning mentality at City.

The dogged resistance of the Villarreal side would have led many lesser teams to resign to their fate prematurely, but there was none of that here.

The Spaniards played an effective counter-attacking game but City always looked the better side. It certainly would have been two points dropped had they not found the breakthrough.

Mancini's tactical changes during the game were ironic as they were like Munich revisited.

On that fateful day, Edin Dzeko reacted furiously to being replaced by a defensive midfielder and Carlos Tevez infamously 'refused' to come on, meaning any Mancini subs against the Spaniards were going to be in the spotlight.

By bringing Adam Johnson off and putting on Gareth Barry with his side 1-0 down and five minutes of the first half still remaining, Mancini sent out a message.

Johnson was understandably unhappy to be hauled off but kept his emotions in check

It was made clear, as if anybody doubted it, that the Italian was the boss and he would not be intimidated by players or past events.

He knew the situation could have blown up in his face again, as Johnson could have reacted like Dzeko and the sub seemed defensive, but it just strengthened his position as manager even more.

Within three minutes, the excellent Aleksandar Kolarov's cross was bundled into his own net by Carlos Marchena, and immediately Mancini will have felt vindicated.

Barry gave City better control in midfield and allowed Yaya Toure to make more probing runs into the box, giving Villarreal more to think about.

The second half was a frustrating affair for the home side, with Villarreal rarely threatening but defending excellently, and it looked like time was about to run out.

Argentinean Aguero did what his compatriot Tevez wouldn't in Munich and came on for the last half an hour, but even that did not look like being a match-winning change.

It was the introduction of James Milner with nine minutes of the 90 left which eventually proved pivotal.

In the last minute of added time, he split the defence with a surprise pass into Pablo Zabaleta, who provided the cross for Aguero to poach the winner.

Substitute Aguero was on hand to poach the winner after some excellent build-up play

City could be described as 'lucky', merely because the goal came 10 seconds before the final whistle was to be blown, but they should be praised for their perseverance when it would have been easy to become frustrated and give up.

They, particularly Mancini, celebrated as if they had won the Champions League but it is easy to understand why given the importance of the result.

Had Aguero not popped up with the clock ticking down, Europa League qualification through a third-placed finish would have been a more realistic prospect than qualification for the Champions League knockout stages, but the result at least leaves them within touching distance of the top two.

They have not done themselves justice so far in the Champions League, but they are learning with each game to keep persevering because they clearly have the quality to beat any side.

Understandably, they are under immense pressure to do well this season in the competition due to the money they have spent, but it must be remembered this is the first time the club have competed in it.

Yes, many of their players have experience of the Champions League but as a collective, as a club, as a set of fans, everything is new.

City's trip to Villarreal in the next game could prove pivotal to their chances, and they could really do with picking up three points there to give themselves a great chance of qualifying.

Juan Carlos Garrido's side are bottom of the group on no points

The Spaniards now have very little to play for so their motivation may not be the same in their home match, so City must finish them off and move onto seven points.

With either one or both of Napoli and Bayern Munich destined to drop points when they play each other on the same day, City would put themselves in a very strong position.

Of course, they are likely to need at least a point in Naples if they are to have a chance, but with the quality at Mancini's disposal anything should be within their reach.

Mancini showed great bravery to make his subs against Villarreal and again proved his tactical flexibility, but he knows the Champions League may be just beyond them in this campaign.

However, his decisions have at least given City a chance of reaching the knockout stages and Aguero's willingness to come off the bench and influence the game is exactly what should be expected of any player.

The irony of the Argentinean coming off the bench to score the winner for City in a Champions League game just two weeks after the Tevez scandal wasn't lost on anyone and perhaps softens the blow of the whole affair for Mancini.

He now knows who to trust and who is committed.

The overriding feeling after the game, perhaps expressed in the celebrations, was one of relief.

City are still in there scrapping and are not willing to relinquish their debut Champions League campaign easily.

Now they must repeat the job in Spain.