• Bayern Munich 2-3 Manchester City

City comeback not enough for top spot

David Silva got Manchester City back into the game © Getty Images

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Manchester City missed out on securing top spot in their Champions League group, despite coming from 2-0 down to beat holders Bayern Munich 3-2 at the Allianz Arena.

Thomas Muller and Mario Gotze put Bayern 2-0 up after 12 minutes as the home side dominated the early exchanges.

However, City halved the deficit when David Silva struck in the 28th minute following a good City move. Aleksandar Kolarov then converted a penalty in the 59th minute, and just three minutes later City were celebrating taking the lead when James Milner superbly curled a right-footed shot beyond Manuel Neuer.

Both sides had ensured qualification for the knockout stage before kick-off and Pellegrini admitted pre-match he was preparing for the contest with Saturday's home match against Barclays Premier League leaders Arsenal also in mind.

His selection reflected that, with the adjustments from Saturday's 1-1 draw at Southampton seeing the likes of Samir Nasri, Sergio Aguero, Alvaro Negredo and Vincent Kompany drop out - the last three to the bench - along with the suspended Yaya Toure.

Goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon was replaced by Joe Hart, who was making only his second appearance in 10 Blues games, as expected and Edin Dzeko, the fit-again Silva, Javi Garcia and Joleon Lescott were among those also coming into the team.

Bayern made just two alterations from the 7-0 win at Werder Bremen in their first XI, which featured the attacking threats of Franck Ribery, Muller and Mario Mandzukic.

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