Manchester City’s victory over Real Madrid has changed the game.
It has been a stormy winter at the Etihad Stadium and, like the city itself, the football club has been hit by a doleful downpour. After two seasons of dominance, this season has limped forward disappointingly in the shadow of Liverpool’s extraordinary performance in the Premier League.
UEFA’s announcement of a two-year ban from the Champions League only added to the doom and gloom, with instant uncertainties around the futures of some of their stars on and off the pitch.
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But as Pep Guardiola’s side trained in the sunshine of Atletico Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano Stadium the Thursday morning after their win in the Spanish capital, a sense of optimism returned to the first team squad.
City headed to Santiago Bernabeu with the prospect of playing three matches in three competitions in the space of seven days. After their win and performance against Zinedine Zidane's side, there is renewed belief that they can finish the season with a second treble in as many years.
“I know that's a hard job, but that's what we want to do and that's what the goals are,” said playmaker Kevin De Bruyne. “At the beginning of the season, we don't say 'we want to win the league and all the rest, we'll see', we want to win all four. We've still got the chance to do three so if that will be the case, then that will be pretty amazing."
Guardiola insists his players are as hungry as ever for success, starting on Sunday, when they can collect their first trophy with a Carabao Cup final against Aston Villa.
City have a remarkable record in the competition, having won the trophy in the last two years and every tie going back to October 2016. Standing in their way of becoming the first club to win it three times on the bounce in nearly 40 years are a relegation-threatened Villa side that were torn apart 6-1 by Guardiola’s side on home turf just six weeks ago.
“The mentality is the same, to be starving and hungry to win another one,” the City boss said ahead of the Wembley clash. “There are no words to express my gratitude to these players. It is honestly so difficult to do it and to maintain that hunger.
“It is a great achievement to get to another final, but now we must try to win. What we have won so far has been incredible.”
That final is followed by the fifth-round FA Cup clash at Championship side Sheffield Wednesday three days later. While one of Guardiola’s worst moments during his time at City was losing to then-League One side Wigan Athletic in similar circumstances two years ago, City will be favourites to progress - and to win the competition outright.
Big sides remain, although one of Chelsea or Liverpool will fall before the week is out, but no one has a recent track record in England like Guardiola’s City. They have won five of the six last domestic trophies on offer - or seven of eight if you count the Community Shield, which the Catalan does.
But while the two domestic cup competitions are extremely winnable, European success will be the toughest of all.
Victory at the Bernabeu has given them a huge advantage in their last-16 clash, but 13-times winners Real Madrid cannot be written off, even if Zidane’s side are not at the same level as they were in the Cristiano Ronaldo era.
City remain Champions League novices, having reached the semi-finals only once and winning just four knockout ties in nine seasons. But eliminating a big beast such as Madrid would give them huge confidence, particularly with Barcelona, Juventus and Bayern Munich not as convincing this season, at least domestically.
Ilkay Gundogan told Goal before the first leg that they needed a major victim to find their feet in the competition, saying: "It's so difficult to explain it - I think we need a big game that we win. And to get through thinking 'this was so hard today', where we need to struggle as well. We have to overcome difficulties, something like that is needed.”
They have some experience from recent years, even if it has not gone their way, with high-scoring exits to Monaco, Liverpool and Tottenham. The win over Madrid represented a slightly more pragmatic approach, with City stifling the home side’s chances and controlling the ball. And in De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling - the latter of whom changed the game from the bench on Wednesday - they have match winners capable of starring at any intimidating stadium in Europe.
Guardiola also knows, however, that you need to luck to win the Champions League. In past seasons, City have been out of it, with controversial decisions against Liverpool and Spurs having not gone their way.
“The line to win or lose is so tight,” he said. “Little details make the difference. There are 1,000 examples I could give about these knockout stages in the last few years. I know exactly what happened in the game, the players know it and we know it is not over and how difficult it will be.”
If bad luck does not get in the way, there are also plenty of reasons why City can win the lot and make it yet another season to remember.
