Mancini glad to be through

City cruised into the last 16 as it ran out a 4-0 winner at the Etihad Stadium to complete a 6-1 aggregate success over the holder and Portuguese champion.

Yet after taking the lead through Sergio Aguero after just 18 seconds, City had to wait until the 76th minute to double the advantage after spurning a number of chances.

Mancini said: "It was a good night but it was not easy.

"We had other chances to score but we didn't score, and when you don't score, you can have other problems.

"It is not easy to beat Porto, they are one of the top teams in Europe and I am happy that we are going to the next stage."

City's second came from substitute Edin Dzeko before the sending off of Rolando preceded further strikes from David Silva and David Pizarro in the closing minutes.

Mancini hopes the victory will boost confidence for a continued push on two fronts.

City, which now awaits the winner of the tie between Sporting Lisbon and Legia Warsaw, also leads the Premier League by two points with 13 games remaining.

When asked about the double challenge, Mancini said: "We hope so but it is not easy.

"We want to try to go to the final if possible but it will be difficult because the Europa League has top squads - Manchester United, Valencia, Schalke - it is like the Champions League.

"For this reason it will be difficult but we want to try.

"After that the Barclays Premier League - we are top, and if we win the next 13 games we will win the league."

City's victory came after further disappointment for other English clubs in the UEFA Champions League.

City and United both crashed out of Europe's elite event before Christmas and Arsenal and Chelsea have now lost their first knock-out legs.

Mancini said: "It is impossible that every year an English team gets to the final or semi-finals. Some years teams will go out earlier.

"But English football remains one of the best and we hope to go to the final."

Porto coach Vitor Pereira felt the scoreline flattered City and his team, which scored the first goal in the tie last week, was unlucky.

Pereira said: "Up until the second Manchester City goal, Porto were the best team.

"We played much better but we know Manchester City have a good team and they used the counter-attack well.

"They have great players up front and the second goal caused us difficulties.

"We wanted to change the game but the sending off changed it in favour of Manchester City.

"Someone who has not seen the match is wrong in their opinion if they think City have dominated the game.

"The scoreline does not show what happened on the pitch."