Man City are making their mark in Champions League

City succeeded without Sergio Aguero last week

They've finally done it and Manchester City are ready to flux their Champions League muscles.

Manchester City fought their way into the Champions League knockout stages after a 2-0 win in Rome on Wednesday night.

After failing to really hit the heights in Europe that their star-laden squad should have done in recent years, it was a mature performance from Manuel Pellegrini's side and possibly a sign they are starting to find their feet at the top table of European club football.

During Sheik Mansour's six-year reign as owner of City the club have under-achieved when it comes to the Champions League. With the riches at their disposal and the ability to attract some of the world's greatest players, the Premier League champions should be consistently making the knockout stages.

The fact that this is the second successive season in which City have made the last 16 shows that things are moving in the right direction for the club.

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One thing that has cursed City in recent years has been a lack of consistency shown in the Champions League. That was epitomised this season by the way they went from a 2-1 home defeat to CSKA Moscow to beating Bayern Munich and then putting in a professional performance at Roma to make the knockout stages.

And they did the latter without arguably their four best players as Sergio Aguero and captain Vincent Kompany were injured, Yaya Toure was suspended and David Silva not fit enough to start the game.

It could be a sign that the pieces of the puzzle are starting to fit into place for Pellegrini, allowing City to scrape their way into the latter stages of the competition. They possess a squad that is crammed full of international stars and have been playing in the Champions League for long enough now that the players know what is expected.

The fact they succeeded this week without Aguero, Kompany, Toure and Silva showed there is a strong squad assembled. It is not just a great XI that Pellegrini can pick from, but a strong squad of players that can all come into the team and hit the heights required.

In truth, City have been cursed with tough draws in the Champions League over recent years. They have faced Bayern in the group stages three times in four years and have also come up against the likes of Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Ajax and Napoli in groups gone by. Such tough draws have meant a steep learning curve for City, playing against teams with much more European experience.

Reaching the knockout stages last year was a big step forward, but what then stood in their way was the formidable challenge of Barcelona. While matching that stage this time around should be expected, they really need to be showing signs of progress and making the quarter-finals.

Unfortunately, as they came second in the group, it is likely they could face a huge challenge to overcome. The best draw for City would be possibly Porto or Monaco, while a worst-case scenario would see them face Real Madrid or Barcelona again.

On the other hand, of the teams that did finish in second place, you can imagine the group winners seeing City as a side they wouldn't want to face as, on their day, the Citizens can beat anyone in Europe.

City are making progress when it comes to the Champions League. They have found their feet and are showing they deserve their place in the top club competition on the continent. The other teams are now aware of the threat City have and will be wary of facing them after Christmas.