Manchester City’s time has come in Europe. The Champions League draw has opened up for them. They have never had a better chance to win the trophy and – no matter what happens in other competitions – there will be a lingering sense of missed opportunity if they do not go all the way this season.

Pep Guardiola is fooling no one when describing City as underdogs – or “teenagers”, as he put it this week. Such attempts to reduce the pressure will not work. He knows his City reign will be judged on Champions League success.

Established clubs such as Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are out. Paris St-Germain fluffed their lines again. Barcelona are the only club remaining to have won the competition in the past 10 years. Juventus, Porto, Ajax, Manchester United and Liverpool are historic winners, but not with their current line-ups, as they seek to revive old habits.

In terms of recent European success, all the teams left, barring Barcelona, are relative novices. City are the best equipped to put a new name on the most coveted European trophy.

There are three clubs Guardiola would have most wanted to avoid in the quarter-final – Barcelona, Manchester United and Liverpool.