The Citizens are about to qualify for the quarterfinals for the first time

Manchester City won 3-1 at the NSC Olimpiyskiy against Dynamo Kiyv in the first leg of the 1/8-finals in The Champions League and are about to make a historical participation in the quarterfinals of the tournament. City’s top goal-scorer Sergio Aguero gave The Citizens the lead after 15 minutes. Then, David Silva doubled from a close distance just 5 minutes before the end of the first half. Despite Buyalskyy scored for the Ukrainian team, Yaya Toure found the net in the 90th minute and secured a comfortable lead for Manchester City before the second leg in England. The Citizens could have even won by more goals, but Toure missed a great opportunity, sending the ball just wide after a great attack in the 82nd minute. So, there will be no pressure for The Citizens before the second leg and they can gain some extra confidence before the crucial battles of the season.

The Citizens were unlucky to meet Barcelona twice in a row at the same stage of the tournament and that’s why they were leaving the Champions League so early in the season. Now, they had to play against one of the ‘easiest’ opponents in the Round of 16 and Manchester City won’t miss their greatest chance to proceed to the quarterfinals for the first time in their history.

Furthermore, The Citizens look more mature and have improved a lot since their participation in The Champions League last season. Despite their temporary bad form in The Premier League, the team still has its chances for winning 3 trophies this season. They are just 6 points behind the leaders Leicester City in The Premier League (12 matches to go), and have already qualified for The Capital One Cup’s final, where they will meet The Merseysiders.

Manchester City’s greatest success in the European tournaments is winning The European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1970, beating 2-1 Polish Gornik Zabrze in the final. Since then, The Citizens have reached the semi-finals of the same tournament once (1971). As I mentioned their best performance in The Champions League is reaching the 1/8-finals (Round of 16). This is their 6th participation in the most prestigious European club tournament and it looks like they are going to set a new record in their history.

If Manchester City are lucky to avoid some of the best teams in the next round, they can even go further. They have the needed quality! The questions are: Are they competitive enough to eliminate Barcelona or Real Madrid? Can Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany lead The Citizens to the glory? Can Pellegrini motivate his players? If the answers are “yes”, then they can even win The Champions League!