Pellegrini says Man City 'eclipsed' Man U this season as 'biggest team in city'

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has said that he believes City's dominant performances in this season may have lead to the usurping of their arch-rivals Manchester United as the biggest team in the city.

Although the defending Premier League champions have been the dominant force in English football for the last 20 years, but they have fallen out of contention for domestic honours this season as they are currently in seventh place and have also been eliminated from the two domestic cup competitions.

According to Sport24, United's upcoming clash with Greek side Olympiakos in the Champions League last 16 represents their only chance of silverware this season, while City is three points behind leaders Chelsea in the Premier League, have reached the final of the League Cup and the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

City, which is bankrolled by the Abu Dhabi United Group, will also face Barcelona in the Champions League and Pellegrini said that given this season's evidence, the club has eclipsed United performance-wise and is currently the only big team in Manchester.

However, Pellegrini admitted that they could not forget what United did in the last years, although he added this season, City wants to fight for titles and will continue to grow and get time to develop a playing philosophy.