MANCHESTER, England -- Its taken three frustrating seasons but Manchester City has finally reached the knockout stage of the Champions League for the first time -- and the English team achieved it in style on Tuesday. Alvaro Negredo scored a hat trick and strike partner Sergio Aguero grabbed the other two goals as City crushed CSKA Moscow 5-2 to guarantee a top-two finish in Group D. After splashing out hundreds of millions of pounds on big-name players over the past five years, City was desperate to transfer its recent domestic success to the European stage and make a dent in the Champions League. Roberto Mancini failed to get City out of its group in the past two seasons, though, and was fired. His successor, Manuel Pellegrini, has succeeded at the first time of asking. "The minimum target was to qualify for the next round but its not the only target," Pellegrini said. "Im sure the team we play (in the last 16) will not be very happy to play against us." Not with Negredo and Aguero in this kind of form. A debate is raging in England about the Premier Leagues top strike partnership. Most plump for Luis Suarez-Daniel Sturridge at Liverpool or Robin van Persie-Wayne Rooney at Manchester United, but the Negredo-Aguero combination is giving them a run for their money. In putting City 2-0 up after a third-minute penalty and a sumptuous turn and shot in the 20th, Aguero became Citys leading European scorer with 13 goals and has now scored in six straight games. Negredo made it 3-0 in the 30th minute after tapping in Agueros teasing cross, slotted home from Samir Nasris deft lay-off in the 51st for 4-1 and then rounded off a satisfying night for the hosts with a headed goal off the last touch of the game. "Aguero is in a great moment, not only because hes scoring but because the whole team is playing offensive football and thats important," said Pellegrini, whose side came into the game off a 7-0 thrashing of Norwich in the Premier League on Saturday. Such was Citys swashbuckling attacking play, admittedly up against a feeble CSKA defence, that it almost took the attention away from what was going on in the crowd. Almost. The behaviour of CSKA fans was under heavy scrutiny in the wake of the first meeting between the sides, a 2-1 win for City two weeks ago that was overshadowed by racist chanting by home supporters that earned the Russian club a partial stadium ban. A small contingent of CSKA fans travelled to Manchester for the return game and, flanked by a mass of stewards, were constantly barracked by City counterparts over what happened in Moscow. Things didnt boil over -- local police said there were no arrests made and no reports of racism -- although officers intervened at one stage and appeared to remove at least one fan, while a smoke bomb appeared to go off during the second half. "We must say thank you to the fans today, they showed the fans of CSKA how to support a team," said City captain Yaya Toure, one of the targets of the racist abuse in Moscow. As the teams emerged from the tunnel for kickoff, stewards also moved quickly to remove a banner put up by City fans that read "Free Pussy Riot" in reference to a Russian punk band, two members of which are serving prison sentences for an irreverent protest against the countrys president, Vladimir Putin. Back on the pitch, City took charge from the first whistle and Aguero was allowed to continue his free-scoring form after David Silva had his heels clipped. Aguero slotted the penalty high into the right-hand corner and was then at his brilliant best for his second, spinning marker Aleksei Berezutski with his first touch after receiving a pass from Nasri before giving himself space to curl low into the bottom corner. It got worse for CSKA, whose failure to press Citys midfield was the source of most of the problems. In the 30th, Aguero was given far too much time and space to thread a cross into the box between goalkeeper and defenders, allowing Negredo an easy tap-in at the far post. However, if there was a blot on the evening, it was the goals Citys defence, which has been vulnerable all season, conceded. Lax defending in first-half injury time saw Pontus Wernbloom feed Seydou Doumbia, who rounded Costel Pantilimon -- again preferred to Joe Hart in goal -- and tapped into an empty net. After Negredo scored his second goal, Doumbia became the third player to grab a brace when he sent Pantilimon the wrong way from the spot in the 71st after being bundled over by Gael Clichy. Negredo had the final say, though, heading in James Milners cross with the games last act. "Its amazing, its history for the club," Toure said. All that remains now is the prize of winning Group D, in which Bayern Munich currently has a three-point lead over City. The pair meet on the final matchday. Anthony Davis Jersey . 5 Trade Deadline isnt that far away and teams will be making decisions on whether to buy, sell and decide which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. ETwaun Moore Jersey . The four-time Grand Slam champion has beaten Hantuchova nine straight times, with the Slovaks only win coming when they first played 10 years ago. 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Getzlaf scored his 20th goal and added two assists, Francois Beauchemin got his first goal of the season, and the Ducks beat the San Jose Sharks 6-3 Tuesday night, closing the best December in club history with their 11th victory in 12 games. Nick Bonino and Matt Beleskey each had a goal and an assist, and Hiller made 33 saves in his ninth consecutive win as Anaheim improved to 15-0-2 at Honda Center, remaining the only NHL team without a regulation loss at home. With another overpowering offensive performance despite a slow start, the Ducks also avenged San Joses 3-1 victory at the Shark Tank on Sunday that snapped Anaheims franchise-record winning streak. "Were a good hockey club, and we know it," said Getzlaf, the NHLs third-leading scorer with 47 points. "But we also know weve got to get better. Games like this, when you come out flat, teams will bury you." Andrew Cogliano scored a short-handed goal while playing in his 500th consecutive game for Anaheim, which kicked off the second half of its schedule and headed into the new year at a franchise-record 29-8-5. The Ducks lead San Jose by seven points in the Pacific and sit even with Chicago atop the overall NHL standings with 63 points. Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau has built one of the best teams in hockey, but the Ducks dissatisfaction with their start against San Jose indicated a hunger to get better. "Its been a lot of fun, and I hope we can keep this going," said Hiller, whose winning streak is the longest in club history. "Its nice to be up there in the standings and to be able to achieve something like we have this year, but I dont think anybody is satisfied yet." Kyle Palmieri also scored for the Ducks, who shredded their Pacific Division rivals and chased Antti Niemi with five goals in an 11 1/2-minute span of the final two periods. Dan Boyle and Bracken Kearns scored power-play goals as the Sharks four-game winning streak ended with a dismaying defeensive effort in front of Niemi, who stopped 29 shots.dddddddddddd Logan Couture also scored for San Jose, which dominated the first period before falling apart in the second. Alex Stalock replaced Niemi after Getzlaf blasted a wrist shot past the Finnish goalie for Anaheims fifth goal early in the third period. "You want to keep the momentum going, but the second period we were just caught staring, and it definitely cost us," Sharks captain Joe Thornton said. Two nights after the Sharks held Anaheim to one goal for the first time in 17 games since Nov. 22, the Ducks showed they havent lost their teamwork and offensive power by putting up a franchise-record 25 shots in the second period. "We were on our toes, winning the races," San Jose coach Todd McLellan said. "Where did it go in the second? I guess thats the big question we have to ask our group. What do you do? What do you bring to the team? Are you an energy guy? Do you hit, block shots, or just take up space? "We have got some guys ... that need to perform a little bit better." Beauchemin got a rebound goal after a lengthy cycle in the second. Couture tied it with his 12th goal before Bonino dived headfirst onto the ice to slap home Getzlafs rebound, ending Anaheims eight-game drought on power plays. Bonino then stole a pass behind San Joses net and got it in front to Beleskey for the grinding forwards second goal of the season. After Getzlaf chased Niemi, Cogliano put home Saku Koivus rebound when the Sharks gave up a 3-on-0 short-handed rush moments later. Cogliano became the fifth NHL player to play in 500 consecutive games from the start of his career. NOTES: San Jose announced F Tomas Hertl had successful surgery Tuesday to repair damaged ligaments in his right knee. ... Dustin Penner was a healthy scratch for the Ducks. Jakob Silfverberg took his place on the top line with Getzlaf and Corey Perry. ... Sharks C Tommy Wingels missed his first game of the season after running into the boards on Sunday. ... Sharks rookie LW Matt Nieto had an assist while making his first NHL appearance in his native Southern California. He is from nearby Long Beach. ' ' '