Q&A: Is this the year Manchester City will win Champions League for first time?

Manchester City are through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League for a sixth successive season.

Here, the PA news agency looks at whether this could be the year they finally win the competition for the first time.

After City’s near-misses of recent years – the 2021 final and the semi-finals last year – it seemed to many that a fit and firing specialist centre-forward was all they were lacking. In Haaland they have clearly filled that gap. After his stunning five-goal haul against RB Leipzig on Tuesday, the prolific Norway international has now scored a staggering 39 goals in 36 appearances for the club. The 22-year-old is a ruthless goalscoring machine and City now seem to have all the pieces they need. They would certainly seem to have few excuses for another failure, but it is not so simple.

While Haaland is clearly doing what he was brought to the club to do, his presence has required an adjustment to the team that has not yet fully bedded in. In previous seasons City have operated with a ‘false nine’ or had their centre-forwards moving into other attacking positions. Asking Haaland to do this too much would negate his considerable strengths. City have therefore moderated their structure and, with players still getting used to this, it has looked clunky at times. With City not finding their usual levels of consistency this term, this has been highlighted whenever they have suffered a frustrating result.

Yes, it is not just down to Haaland’s arrival. City had more players at the World Cup than any other club with 16 and that could be taking its toll while the defence has not had a settled look all season. There were injuries at the start of the campaign, while the inexperienced Sergio Gomez has not been an