4 years ago
271 
By Phil McNulty
Chief football writer at Etihad Stadium
Manchester City finished off the job they started back in February by deservedly overcoming Real Madrid to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
Pep Guardiola's side will now face Lyon in the new one-game knockout format in Lisbon, having inflicted Zinedine Zidane's first elimination from the Champions League after winning the tournament three times.
It was a win City fully merited as their intense pressing game forced Real into mistakes, with France World Cup-winning defender Raphael Varane unable to cope with the pressing of Gabriel Jesus in particular.
He robbed Varane to set up Raheem Sterling in the ninth minute but Karim Benzema's towering header before half-time set up the possibility of a tense second period.
City, though, created the better opportunities in an excellent performance as Real missed the leadership and nous of central defender Sergio Ramos, suspended after being sent off in the first leg.
Without Ramos alongside him, Varane made another error when his headed back-pass fell short of Thibaut Courtois to allow the lurking Gabriel Jesus to pounce in the game's decisive moment after 68 minutes.
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City's superiority over Real was actually more emphatic than the scoreline suggests.
From the opening seconds, with Phil Foden in an advanced role and the Spanish champions unsettled by the mobility of Sterling and Jesus, City's relentless pressing and sheer intensity gave them control.
It was epitomised by Jesus - who hounded Varane into submission - but City had stars all over the pitch, with Kevin de Bruyne producing some brilliant passes and Kyle Walker positive in defence and attack.
Goalkeeper Ederson was faultless when called upon and there were few signs of the defensive frailties that have undermined them in the Premier League this season.
If City perform like this against Lyon they will be difficult to stop, but the French side must not be taken lightly after disposing of Juventus.
The Champions League has always eluded City and has been out of Guardiola's reach since his glory at Barcelona - but if this quality and discipline can be maintained, this could be the season that all changes.
Guardiola joins exclusive club - the stats
Pep Guardiola is the third individual to eliminate Real Madrid in the knockout stages of the Champions League on more than one occasion, along with Marcello Lippi (1995-96, 2002-03) and Ottmar Hitzfeld (2000-01, 2006-07).Real have been eliminated before the quarter-finals in consecutive Champions League campaigns for the first time since 2009-10 - they had reached at least the semi-finals in each of the eight seasons between 2010-11 and 2017-18. City's victory marks the first time an English side have won both legs in a Champions League knockout tie against Spanish opposition since 2008-09, when Liverpool won 5-0 on aggregate against Real.Zinedine Zidane was eliminated from a Champions League knockout tie for the first time as Real boss, having progressed from each of the previous 12. Raheem Sterling scored his 100th goal in all competitions for City, becoming the first Englishman to reach three figures for the club since Dennis Tueart in 1981.City forward Gabriel Jesus is just the second player to score in both legs of a Champions League knockout tie against Real for an English side, after Ruud van Nistelrooy with Manchester United in 2002-03.Karim Benzema has scored five goals in his last six appearances in the Champions League knockout stages for Real.More to follow.
