Man City players and fans delivered on Real Madrid's Etihad worry but learned a crucial lesson

For three days Manchester City dared to dream the impossible. On Tuesday Pep Guardiola laid out the problems before them when it came to cementing a place in the history books, but Bernardo Silva gave the game away. A Double Treble was about a "legacy". The dramatic defeats suffered by Liverpool and Arsenal on Sunday had made it a possibility.

But this is always the week where dreams of glory come to live or die for City. Guardiola noted along on Tuesday when it was suggested this is the most demanding and dangerous week of their season. Two defining games in 72 hours. Survive to Sunday and all would have felt plausible.

Instead, they will look back on a raucously brilliant night at the Etihad and wonder how it was Real Madrid's players celebrating in front of a delirious away end at a little before 11pm. The count stopped at 67% possession, 33 shots to eight and 18 corners to one. But heartbreak ensued. The perfect legacy will have to wait.

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Guardiola will know this is just what Real do. This is now Europe's premier rivalry, but City are still learning on this stage. Real are the kings. They found a way to survive.

It still felt telling that when Antonio Rudiger's final penalty hit the back of the net, after a moment of mourning, the Etihad broke into applause. This wasn't a technically proficient performance as City delivered against Real last season, but it was jaw-dropping in other ways. The power of their second-half performance, in particular, will live long in the memory.

It was a night when players and fans were in unison. If last season's semi-final second leg was a demonstration of City's brilliance - a high-water