A swift brace from Edin Dzeko quickly sunk Aris’ hopes of a famous giant killing. The Bosnian netted twice to make it four goals in six starts since his £27m move from Wolfsburg. This comfortable win allows progression to the last 16 where we will face Dynamo Kiev, who will provide a much tougher test than our Greek opponents did.

For the first time this season (due to injuries), Mancini had all of the attacking talent available to pick from. And making his intentions in this competition clear to all, he selected all four forwards. Asking Balotelli, Silva and Tevez to play just behind Edin Dzeko, the attacking focal point. Barry and Yaya were deployed behind the front quartet in deep midfield whilst Lescott was Kompany’s preferred partner in defence. Coming together in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Tevez was assigned a free role behind Dzeko, allowing him to drift from flank to flank, with ball at feet. However, he had a quiet game by his standards; scarcely into goal scoring positions. Silva had another good game, playing brisk one-two’s and helping retain possession once ahead. The mercurial Mario Balotelli divides opinion between the City fans, but I happen to love the guy and thought he had a good game. Admittedly, he can often cut a forlorn image on the pitch, but yesterday, I thought he looked interested, eager to score, and happy to supply his team mates. In fact he was very unlucky not to score, striking the post just before Yaya’s intervention.

The show stealer though, was Edin Dzeko. Mancini’s solitary January capture put the game beyond Aris after only 12 minutes. His first finish contained all the attributes that have been associated to Dzeko, but that us Manchester fans have yet to see first hand – Dzeko punished a mistake in a ruthless fashion, taking a touch before blasting the ball past Sifakis in a composed manner. His second goal was even more enjoyable; capping off a flowing move with a low curled finish between two defenders. Dzeko had found his feet.

Two goals to the good the team took their foot off the gas. Slowing the speed of the passing and attacking with less vigour. Not much of note happened from here. Except Balotelli’s shot which cannoned off the post and Yaya’s cushioning goal. On reflection, these ties encapsulated the typical Mancini approach: earning a routine draw away from home, blitzing the opposition for the first 20 minutes of the home leg and then sitting back, content with comfortable lead.