City's statement of intent silences Real
Guardiola's men next meet Lyon in 'Final 8' in Portugal, after a show of maturity and control
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Real Madrid's goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois clearing the ball in time from Manchester City's Gabriel Jesus in their Champions League round-of-16 second leg at the Etihad Stadium on Friday. But Courtois could not stop two strikes by Jesus and Raheem Sterling, both after Real's Raphael Varane gave the ball away inside his box. City won 2-1 for a 4-2 aggregate victory.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
LONDON • Manchester City may have faded off a massive 18 points behind Premier League champions Liverpool this season, but it could be their time to shine on the European stage after so many years.
Pep Guardiola's men delivered a statement performance to move past Real Madrid and into the quarter-finals of the Champions League on Friday, putting aside questions about their mettle in Europe's top club competition.
Under Guardiola, City have fallen short in the knockout stages, allowing games to run away from them in losses to Tottenham, Liverpool and Monaco in the past three seasons.
But, in both the 2-1 win at the Bernabeu in February and in this victory by the same scoreline at the Etihad, they showed a maturity and control that suggests they may be ready for a real challenge this campaign.
Lyon are next up on Saturday in Lisbon, Portugal. In this form, City will start as favourites to reach the competition's semi-finals for only the second time.
While they were on fire, Real were undone by the sort of sloppy defending that has cost Guardiola's men in the past.
Twice, Raphael Varane gave the ball away inside his box to gift City goals - the first created by Gabriel Jesus for Raheem Sterling and the second finished by the Brazilian.
Karim Benzema scored for Real to level at 1-1 for the night but it was not enough as the Spaniards lost 4-2 on aggregate.
"This competition can punish you, we know from our experience but Gabriel (Jesus) made his contribution, he's the best guy for these situations," said Guardiola.
"He's the Man of the Match for these two games, he was decisive for us. He helped us when we suffered in the bad moments."
But the City boss deserves credit himself for the way he set his team up to press Real's fragile backline, with the surprise decision to feature Phil Foden as part of his front three.
2 Real Madrid have lost both legs of a Champions League knockout tie for the first time since 2008-09, when they were beaten both home and away by Liverpool in the last 16.
"The plan was to be on the front foot, show aggression and be right on them and we did that and, with our pressing, we got the two goals," said Sterling.
City fans may believe this could be their year but Guardiola knows there is so much quality awaiting in the "Final Eight" knockout tournament in Lisbon.
"It's an important first step, to beat Real Madrid is incredible, but we have to go to Portugal.
"Eat well, be together, laugh and work a lot and arrive in the best moment to play Lyon and try to get to the semis for only the second time. We have to be calm," the Spaniard warned.
Varane faced up to his mistakes, admitting: "This is on me. I failed."
But Real coach Zinedine Zidane said he was "proud" of his team for their achievements this season.
"We can't be happy about today because we have lost a game and gone out, but we have to be proud of what we have done over the season," he said.
Real overhauled Barcelona to win La Liga for the first time since 2017, thanks to a fine run of 10 successive wins following the long shutdown.
But they have now been knocked out of the Champions League for the first time with Zidane as coach - the Frenchman led Real to glory in the competition in three straight years during his first spell in charge between 2016 and 2018 before returning to the job last year.
"We lost two games against a good side. We had chances to score and in the second half we played better, but that's football," added Zidane. "But 95 per cent of what we did this year was excellent. We have to be very proud of the team, of what we have done this season."
REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
