Just as they did in Madrid last week, City dominated Real on the pitch and in the stats on the night. But they failed take advantage. Four goals scored - against any Real team of any era - and you should be progressing. But City, in the first-leg, defensively fell short. And on Wednesday night it was the attack that let them down. We can talk fine margins. Indeed, the finest. But Real Madrid - particularly their coach Carlo Ancelotti - proved themselves the masters of the small details. And in doing so, they deservedly progressed to the semifinals.
As we say, this is a failure for City. And it should be embarrassing. For a team regarded by many - including this column - with the potential to be the greatest of modern times, to finish in the final eight of the Champions League should be viewed inside the club as unacceptable. This isn't the City of Maine Road. This isn't even the City of Roberto Mancini. This is Pep Guardiola's Manchester City. A winning machine. A juggernaut. One that should be opening up a period of European domination to match Di Stefano and Puskas' Real Madrid. That's the standard this team - and this club - should be aspiring to. But they fell woefully short over the past week.
So questions must be raised. Yes, there's still a Double to win. But this City team has outgrown it's domestic competition. Indeed in relative terms, when City should be rubbing shoulders with Real, Barca and Bayern Munich, what does such a Double mean when no Premier League team are in the final four of the Champions League? For the standards now expected from the Sky Blues, this is a poor, poor result.
Toni Rudiger? Does the German still have Erling Haaland in his pocket today? That's now three times. Three times has the Real defender faced City's star striker and kept him quiet. For all the possession of City. For all the shots on target from their players. Rudiger boasts a 100 per cent record against Haaland. In the biggest games. On the biggest stage. The Norwegian was again found wanting. That Guardiola chose to enter extra-time by changing Haaland for Julian Alvarez says a lot. The manager clearly couldn't see his centre-forward finishing that scrappy matchwinning chance when it came.
So the change was made and you do wonder if Haaland is now being found out. Or at least has been worked out. With the glare of the spotlight now red-hot, Haaland's game is being pulled apart like never before. His first touch. His vision. His ability to bring others into the game. It's all being questioned. 31 goals in 39 games this season is yet again a great return - on paper. But there's a huge difference between bullying your way to a 5-goal performance against Luton and finding a way to get the better of an inspired Rudiger. Again, that's the level at which Haaland is expected to perform. At the Bernabeu in a cut-throat Champions League tie, not the Kenny in the Cup.
So can he do it? Is he capable? Can Haaland prove himself more than a one-dimensional battering ram? Can he bring a subtlety to his game? Can he do better in the air? With his positioning? It should be all on the table now.
As should the decision-making of last summer. Would City have been better offloading a hungover Jack Grealish and convincing Cole Palmer to stay? Would the team be performing better with the Chelsea man in that attacking midfield role instead of his older former teammate? Yes, Grealish had his moments against Dani Carvajal. But City's goal didn't come until Guardiola swapped him for Jeremy Doku midway through the second-half. Again, small margins. Yes, City will boast that such is their depth that they can afford to lose a talent like Palmer. But at the European level, can they really?
And what of the manager? Those goals conceded at the Bernabeu. Did Guardiola err in sticking with Stefan Ortega over a fully-fit Ederson for that first-leg?
Again, everything should be on the table. It all should be examined, because this was a failure for Manchester City. If roles were reversed. If it was Florentino Perez overseeing a team and coach as City have today. The Real Madrid president would be banging heads together - and in the summer, many of those heads would roll. Pep knows this. As does Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano.
That's the demands of this level. The standards to be met. And on Wednesday night, Manchester City failed to reach them. No matter how it's spun, finishing in the final eight of the Champions League must be deemed a failure for Pep Guardiola and his team.