The numbers: Man City, Liverpool best of brilliant era (City the best ever?)

Manchester City put Sporting Lisbon out of the UEFA Champions League, basically in the 5-0 first leg and formally with a 69 percent possession performance in a 0-0 draw on Thursday at the Etihad Stadium.

There were still plenty of things to notice from City’s quarterfinal berth-clinching day, not the least of which was 19-year-old right back CJ Egan-Riley making his UCL debut by completing 58-of-60 passes on a 75-touch day.

[ MORE: Real Madrid, Man City take different routes to UCL quarters ]

City’s making it look easy lately, highlighting another incredible season with a Manchester derby trouncing of Manchester United that might’ve been better described as a cakewalk as the second-half saw the Citizens basically waltz around the room with 79 percent possession and a 14-0 edge in shots.

And while United is nowhere near its historical standards and Sporting Lisbon down 5-0 after one leg, it’s tempting to sleep on the fact that these are two of the best teams in the world: Champions League knockout round entrants (albeit one of these results coming in the Premier League).

But don’t. And while you’re doing the non-sleepy stuff, save a thought for Liverpool fans. No, not because they are yelling on social media about the world writing off their Reds, but because they may well be the second-best team in Europe, not just England, and may be deprived of a half-dozen pieces of silverware by the time Pep Guardiola is done running an absolute Manchester masterclass.

Jurgen Klopp’s first partial year and Man City’s last prep-Pep Guardiola year was the 2015-16 Premier League season. The top two teams in fewest shots conceded were Man City (8.9) and Liverpool (10.5). Decent numbers.

The possession leader was Arsenal at 56.9 percent