Man City have one tinge of sadness on greatest Champions League night

Well, what a nice change that was!

A year ago Manchester City suffered their most agonising heartbreak in the Champions League yet as a last-gasp collapse at the Bernabeu saw them eliminated just as fans had begun to book their Paris hotels. It was a dramatic, spellbinding event to watch unravel. As if witnessing someone fall down the stairs, powerless to help and incapable of looking away.

But on Wednesday evening there was no such pulse-raising tension. Instead, what we were treated to was a total masterclass. A portrait of dominance. Complete and utter control. A murder that left no evidence. City were the slick assassin sneaking in, placing the pillow over Real Madrid's face and leaving without a sound. The kings of Europe killed without ever knowing what hit them.

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At the half-hour mark, Carlo Ancelotti's side were averaging just 1.5 passes per minute. They could hardly get a kick let alone a foothold in the game. Their rare flashes of danger were snuffed out as easily as a dying candle. But Toni Kroos hitting the crossbar, Vinicius Junior racing through and Karim Benzema nearly sneaking in behind just made City's otherwise total supremacy even more impressive.

This was Real Madrid. A sensational team who a week ago City were lucky to escape with a level score intact. The most successful club in history. The team who even with their backs to the wall somehow always find a way through. Almost always.

Yet the kings were forced to kneel. Pep Guardiola's teams have played so much stunning football over the past 15 years that it's impossible to remember every breathtaking match, but surely not one has been as complete as this?