Kevin De Bruyne celebrates after grabbing the only goal during our second leg tie against PSG

Even before Vurnon Anita’s left-footed drive could settle into the back of the net during our game against Newcastle, the writing was already on the wall. As far as Manchester City are concerned, the Premier League is over. Hopes of a late title push are surely too optimistic for even the most diehard Cityzen to consider and since we’re already in a Champions League place, fourth place is not an immediate target for us. The Capital One Cup is already safely locked away in our cupboards and with no FA Cup tilt left to throw our weight behind, all the signs point in one direction.

The UEFA Champions League is what Manchester City’s season rests upon. I’m aware that my last sentence may be taken in a negative manner by someone who does not how much European success means to us. Having your entire season rest upon your success in the Champions League is not at all a bad position to be in and no way should one think we’re in a mess because we have just one cup to fight for.

PSG boss Laurent Blanc recently labelled Man City as the “guest team” in the Champions League semis

Never in our existence have we had the Champions League semi-finals to look forward to, and now that we have the good fortune to line up against ten-time European Cup winners Real Madrid in a fight for a place in the Champions League final, there’s no way that we should allow our domestic underachievement to take the gloss of what’s been a fantastic continental campaign.

Another heckler in the crowd that we must ignore is PSG boss Laurent Blanc, who is still nursing his wounds after we knocked his team out in the last round of Europe’s elite club competition. Blanc dismissed City’s European chances by saying that we were a “guest club” in the semis.

That’s pretty rich coming from the boss of Paris Saint Germain, a club whose rise to prominence has been fuelled by the same stuff that gave us the City of today. Laurent Blanc as an individual has the right to comment about clubs and their pedigree, but Laurent Blanc the PSG boss needs to look at his own club before he labels us as a “guest”.

Manchester City will head into their tie with Real with all guns blazing after a convincing win over PSG in the Quarters

Before their Qatari takeover in 2011, PSG had won only two Ligue 1 titles, three French league cups and eight French cups and one Cup Winner’s Cup. Manchester City on the other hand, had won two First Division titles, two League Cups, four FA Cups and a Cup Winners Cup before our own takeover in 2008. So Monsieur Blanc, do you actually think that Manchester City is a guest team in the semis while PSG would have been a part of the inner sanctum?

I’m sure a sensible man like Laurent Blanc would realise his mistake once the previous paragraph was brought to his notice. Nonetheless, “forgiveness is a virtue of the brave” they say and we’d be happy to forgive Monsieur Blanc for his error, but the best way to answer him and any other pedigree specialists would be by beating Real over two legs and going all the way in the Champions League no matter who we face in the final.