The City fans had turned up at the Etihad Stadium hoping for one last show of defiance from the players, and the chance to celebrate the Pellegrini era, but left disappointed.
This was an afternoon that began in hope and ended in apathy for Manchester City. It initially gave the impression that, for the home fans at least, today was as much about passion and effort as anything else, an opportunity to put frustration aside and give Manuel Pellegrini a warm send off. By full time, more than half the crowd had poured out of the Etihad Stadium long before the manager took to the microphone to say his goodbyes.