Samir Nasri has said it was "a miracle" that Manchester City qualified for the Champions League round of 16 after having made a dreadful start to their European campaign.
The Frenchman scored City's first goal and set up Pablo Zabaleta's late second as they won 2-0 at Roma on Wednesday to finish as Group E runners-up.
They had taken only two points from their first four group games and were 2-1 down after 84 minutes in the fifth before two late Sergio Aguero goals completed a hat-trick to defeat Bayern Munich 3-2 at Etihad Stadium.
The Premier League champions went from fourth in the group to second thanks to their win in Rome, and Nasri told City's official website: "It feels great.
"It was the target at the start of the night, and we knew if we were patient we would win the game. We are happy, because it was a miracle after four games when we had two points."
City staged dramatic late runs to win the Premier League in two of the last three seasons, coming from eight points behind to clinch the title by winning their last five and six games respectively.
And Nasri said: "It is always the same with City -- we like to do it the hard way, and we did it again."
Left-back Gael Clichy admitted that City had been below par at the start of the group, telling the club's website: "Now we see the real side that won the Premier League last year. I think we are improving.
"It is about time, because in the first part of the season we did not play well. It is a great night for us and the fans.
The former Arsenal defender argued that City's fortunes had changed in the 2-1 Premier League victory at home to Swansea three days before the Bayern game.
He added: "We conceded less goals, less chances, and we scored more goals. Bayern Munich was a big game, because we were 2-1 down and we came back and won the game."