Will Manchester City be able to break through in Europe?

City’s 7-0 last 16 win at the Etihad against Schalke sent a message around Europe.

As the final minutes ticked away on a special European night at the Etihad Stadium, chants of “Stand up for the Champions” reverberated around the blue side of Manchester.

The Citizens’ 10-2 aggregate win over Schalke on Tuesday made a statement to the rest of the contenders in the UEFA Champions League: the Blues’ status as odds-on favorites, despite never having lifted the trophy, is legitimate.

City have consistently underachieved in Europe’s premier club competition, falling to the likes of Liverpool and Monaco in the last two seasons in the quarter-final and round of 16, respectively.

Before the 78th minute of the first leg in Gelsenkirchen, it looked as if another stunning City exit from the competition could have been on the cards. Down 2-1 at the Veltins Arena, Leroy Sané provided a stunning substitute appearance as the visitors showed a champions mentality to fight back and claw out a 3-2 result heading back to the Etihad.

The difference in this City side, however, comes from manager Pep Guardiola. Under the Catalan’s stewardship, City are ruthless, imposing their will on the opposition while showing no complacency against inferior opponents, a key weakness during the Manuel Pellegrini and Roberto Mancini eras.

City looked to be falling into their old trap of falling short against a lesser opponent in Schalke, who sit 13th in the Bundesliga this season, during the first leg. However, it was Guardiola’s attention to detail and Champions League-winning mentality that inspired City to win 9-0 on aggregate from that moment in which they trailed.

City have one of Europe’s deepest squads, and still have hopes to lift all four major trophies available to them in a historic quadruple. Without a clear favorite standing out in this year’s Champions League, City could emerge as the team to break a five-year period of Spanish dominance in  the competition.

City’s journey to become the predominant force in the English game has been remarkable, yet the overall desire to create a continental force comparable to the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid has yet to be achieved. Although they play a scintillating style of football that brought a historic domestic campaign last year, if they are to be considered on the same level as the Spanish giants, they will need to translate that success into the Champions League.

As they now head into the quarter-final as the bookmakers’ favorites, the expectation that comes with being one of the world’s best sides will once again fall on their shoulders. However, this side, perhaps the pinnacle of Guardiola’s English experiment, is best suited to lift the famous trophy for the first time in club history.