Although the Premier League title is out of their hands, Manchester City fans could have something bigger to celebrate at the end of this season.
The Sky Blues first made it into the quarter-finals for the first time in their history after seeing off Ukrainian outfit Dynamo Kiev in the round of 16. And after powering past PSG, Manuel Pellegrini's men now have taken it one step further and booked their spot in the final four, seemingly against all odds.
As the only remaining English side in the Champions League, Manchester City now will be expected to keep the Premier League flag flying as they now will square off against Real Madrid for a spot in the finals at Milan's Stadio San Siro this May. For all intents and purposes, this looks set to be another lopsided tie, especially given City's inexperience at this juncture in this tournament.
So, is it a case of "Mission Impossible" for Pellegrini's side? It will be tough, but not impossible. Let's have a look at some reasons that will boost City's chances (and concern fans) ahead of tomorrow's exciting clash:
1. Real Madrid have had an easy path so far...but have some trouble making that advantage count in the Champions League
Let's face it. The 10-time Champions League winners have had a pretty easy path to the quarter-finals. First up was Serie A side Roma, who, despite enjoying a mini-renaissance in Italy were going to be no match for the La Liga powerhouse. Still, had the Giallorossi been a lot less profligate in Madrid, Luciano Spalletti's side could have caused Real Madrid a bit of concern in the return leg.
Then next was Wolfsburg. Despite a shock 2-0 first leg reversal, Real Madrid, not surprisingly, came up big at their home ground to edge the Bundesliga side and book their spot in the quarter-finals. Again, if Dieter Hecking's troops had been a bit sharper, Zinedine Zidane's side could have been on the receiving end of one of the biggest upsets in Champions League history.
Manchester City, of course, are overall a better squad than both Roma and Wolfsburg, and if they are on their game tomorrow, can certainly cause quite a bit of headaches for the capital giants. The tricky part, of course, will be to replicate this once they head to Madrid next week, which brings us to our next point.
2. Scoring against Real Madrid on your home turf is one thing. On theirs...is another story all together
Wolfsburg found this out the hard way. 2-0 up in Germany, to 3-2 down on aggregate after it was all settled in Madrid. So far, Zidane's side have yet to concede at home in the Champions League, and a huge part of this, is of course, due to the top-notch performances of Keylor Navas.
So, in order to book their spot in this season's final, City will need to score. Not just at the Etihad, but in Madrid as well. If they can do so, they will not just, naturally, grab a vital away goal (or perhaps more) but end Real Madrid's long-standing clean-sheet European home record.
And there is one player in particular who would definitely love doing just that...
3. Sergio Aguero's Real frustration
Aguero, who has been in an excellent vein of form this season - but especially since the start of this year - has featured against Real Madrid twice whilst for Manchester City and 12 times whilst playing for Atletico Madrid. In total, he has scored three goals (two for Los Rojiblancos and one for the Sky Blues).
However, the Argentinian superstar has never beaten them. What better way, then, to finally overcome this long hoodoo by knocking Real Madrid out of the competition and whilst scoring at their home stadium?
He's one player that will be definitely raring to go - both tomorrow and next week in the away leg. Still, City will be very wary of one ex-Manchester United star who won't want want to see the Red Devils' "noisy neighbors" progress to the final.
4. Manchester City's Cristiano Ronaldo problem
As we all know, Cristiano Ronaldo featured for Manchester United prior to his mega-money move to Real Madrid, and during his time at Old Trafford won his first Champions League trophy. So far, he has scored 16 goals in this tournament and will be roaring to start if fit.
City supporters will obviously be hoping that if CR7 does play tomorrow, then he has an off day. For when he scores, it does not bode well for the Citizens. In fact, so far, he has scored four goals against Manchester City - and Tuesday's hosts have never won when this happens.
This will be something that the Premier League giants will naturally have in mind as they prepare to feature in their first-ever Champions League semi-finals in their history.
5. The absence of expectations
And finally, it might be quite obvious, but there is no pressure on Manchester City. Sure, they might be the only English club remaining in the Champions League. But no one expected Pellegrini's side to get this far. When they were paired with PSG, many expected the Ligue 1 champions to finally get past the quarter-finals stage, but the Citizens put in a top-notch performance to deservedly earn their spot at this point in this competition.
By contrast, this will be the 27th European Cup semi-final for Real Madrid. Manchester City can simply go out there and enjoy their football, because, whatever happens, this current side will already have made history. Certainly, given that they have made it this far, it would be quite disappointing not to be one of the teams featuring at the San Siro next month, and they are just 180 minutes away from achieving that dream.
But it will all start from tomorrow at the Etihad - and if they will be able to topple the most decorated side in European football when they welcome Real Madrid to their home ground for their first-ever Champions League semi-finals meeting.
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