The Chilean was happy that his side were paired with Paris Saint-Germain in the draw for the Champions League quarter-finals and not the current Liga leaders
Manuel Pellegrini has expressed his relief that Manchester City avoided holders Barcelona in Friday's Champions League draw.
City were paired with Paris Saint-Germain in the last eight having eased past Dynamo Kiev in the previous round.
Although Pellegrini acknowledged that PSG, led by star forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic, will be tough opposition, he failed to hide his relief that City had not drawn Barca, who knocked Pellegrini's men out of the competition in the past two seasons.
"In my opinion, Barcelona are the team that can make the difference but all the other teams are the same," the City manager told a news conference on Friday.
"You never know what represents an easy draw when you're with the eight best teams on the continent. Maybe one team has less of a name than another but they're at this stage so they deserve to be there because they beat other teams."
Pellegrini was also pleased the second leg will be staged at City's Etihad Stadium.
"It's better to be away first - I always prefer to finish at home so you know what you must do in your home stadium," he added.
Pellegrini also insists that City will keep on fighting for the Premier League title despite currently sitting fourth, 12 points behind Leicester City, albeit with a game in hand ahead of the weekend's Manchester derby.
He said: "In football when you have a mathematical chance you cannot think you cannot do it. It's a winning mentality – win the next game and then see which team has the most points.
"I think that a derby is always dangerous regardless of the position of both teams – if it's in the Premier League it's doubly dangerous."
United crashed out of the Europa League to Liverpool on Thursday to place more pressure on coach Louis van Gaal but Pellegrini says their cross-town rivals should not be underestimated.
"They have good players – United have a very good squad, it doesn't matter how they play, they're always a dangerous team," he added.
"It's a special game and I know the players treat it that way for the fans."
- Goal