De Bruyne fires Manchester City into 1st-ever Champions League semi-final

It wasn't exactly a two-legged affair with the vim and verve that many predicted, but it did take a fine effort from the veracious-footed Kevin De Bruyne to distance Manchester City from Paris Saint-Germain by a 3-2 aggregate scoreline.

A tight battle in Eastlands ended 1-0 to the host on Tuesday courtesy of the 76th-minute tally, advancing City to the Champions League semi-final stage for the first time in its history.

Laurent Blanc's side limped out of the Champions League quarter-final second leg for the fourth consecutive season, and the manager, despite leading PSG to a fourth straight Ligue 1 title in emphatic fashion, will have to answer questions about his baffling formation to start proceedings at the Etihad Stadium.

The 3-5-2 failed to trouble City's backline greatly in the first stanza, while much of the midfield struggled to get to grips with the fixture following the reshuffle in the wake of Thiago Motta's forced withdrawal.

City threatened to jeopardise on sloppiness in the middle from PSG, but instead it was a brief spell of superiority in possession, leaving the visitor scrambling in its own final third, that gifted De Bruyne with a few yards to showcase his unerring accuracy.

The return of the Belgian to fitness has been instrumental to City's ambitions in the continent's elite club competition. His sublime weight of pass and, most importantly, unrivalled attitude in the team have brought his side to a new level.

His exploits may shade a rather limp outing by PSG, with the impressive Joe Hart only required to swat at a couple of efforts despite working behind the worrying duo of Nicolas Otamendi and Eliaquim Mangala. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was mocked by the home support for a perceived inferiority to the ungainly and oft-injured West Ham United forward Andy Carroll, but some folk in north-west England will now roundly believe that assessment was just.

But his was just one largely underwhelming performance of many PSG players over the double-header, not just in this midweek clash.

There are some words that could ring in the ears of Blanc after this tie, and it won't be those mutterings from those in dark blue and red in the stands. Instead, they're some of this own words from when he compared the two teams before the first leg of the last-eight meeting:

We have nothing to demonstrate to Manchester City. This is not a challenge against (the owners of) Manchester City. They managed to win their domestic league which is not easy and some titles but maybe in Europe they're a bit behind us.

The parallels between PSG and City are obvious. Oil-rich owners and repeated huge outlay in transfer windows have distanced both sides from those Parisian and Mancunian teams that met seven-and-a-half years ago and played out a drab 0-0 draw. To make premature comparisons of their rises was inevitable then, but did Blanc jump the gun with his?

Perhaps not on this occasion, PSG has undoubtedly enjoyed more success. The quarter-finals were unchartered territory for City, and while Manuel Pellegrini's ranks showed a great deal of professionalism over the two legs - a quality that has been lacking for much of the campaign - PSG was instead forced to shuffle its men as it dealt with hurtful suspensions and an injury to the intelligent Marco Verratti.

Although the precocious Adrien Rabiot put forward a strong case as Les Parisiens' outstanding performer over the two matches, there is no doubting that the absence of Verratti, along with the second-leg suspension of Blaise Matuidi and injury suffered to Motta in Manchester, certainly left the team looking uncharacteristically bare in midfield.

The suspensions - perhaps down a lack of discipline - could, however, be charged back to Blanc. With Ibrahimovic widely touted to be exiting the Parc des Princes, there could be a rebuild afoot at PSG.

Just three weeks ago, things too looked glum for City after a flat and uninspired home loss to hated rival Manchester United. Incoming manager Pep Guardiola must have stepped up his transfer plans for the summer as the squad he was set to inherit looked bereft of fight and ideas.

What a difference De Bruyne makes. Suddenly, the Spaniard must be rubbing his hands with glee at what he already has at his disposal. A penalty miss aside, Sergio Aguero continued to be a constant nuisance. David Silva looks ready-made for a deeper and more physical role in the middle. Even Jesus Navas showed some signs of unpredictability.

But the ultimate outcome is that City triumphed on the night, a superb send-off and tribute to the professionalism of the departing Pellegrini.