Pep Guardiola's side put in an incredible display to win 4-0 against the reigning European champions and progress 5-1 on aggregate to set up a meeting with Italians Inter Milan in Istanbul on 10 June.

It extends their unbeaten run at home in Europe to 26 games - stretching back to September 2018 - and Grealish told BT Sport: "I don't think a lot of teams would do that to Real Madrid but when we are all together, and especially playing here [at Etihad Stadium], we feel unstoppable.

"I don't know what it is, whether it is our fans or the pitch, we just feel unstoppable, even in the league we feel no one can beat us. It is unbelievable."

City managed the second half and it was over when Manuel Akanji touched a Kevin De Bruyne free-kick into Éder Militão, who watched the ball fly in off him. Militão had come into the Madrid team for Antonio Rüdiger and with the brief of stopping Erling Haaland.

Madrid did at least prevent City’s goal king from scoring, although mainly because Thibaut Courtois once again showed why he is surely the best goalkeeper in Europe. Yet the positives for Carlo Ancelotti were in grievously short supply, the only other one being that the full-time scoreline did not reflect City’s superiority. The Madrid manager was questioned about his future afterwards. He said there was no doubt that he would stay on.

It probably said a lot that the celebrations from the City crowd after the third goal were not overly wild, which was also the case when the substitute Julian Álvarez scored the fourth in stoppage time. It was laid on by a killer ball from another replacement, Phil Foden – which was very much a motif of the occasion. City’s passing was loaded with fizz and incision.