There was plenty to discuss as the Blues held their
nerve to secure a place in the Champions League semi-finals for the
first time in their historyEven a missed Sergio Aguero penalty could not knock Manuel Pellegrini's men off their stride, with Kevin De Bruyne once again proving to be the stand-out, on a night when the vast majority of his team-mates went above and beyond.
While Pellegrini can look forward to an unlikely semi-final, Laurent Blanc will reflect on a night when his tactics back-fired.
These are the talking points from one of the biggest night's in City's modern history...
There didn't appear to be much more to say about Kevin De Bruyne. He
was billed as City's best hope leading up to the match, the one man
capable of providing a consistent threat. He had scored 14 goals and
laid on 12 assists before tonight and has been the difference for Manuel
Pellegrini's man on too many occasions to count.But now he has done so on the biggest night of his club career. Dubbed a "£60m flop" by one British newspaper as City prepared to make him the second costliest player in British football history, his tough spell at Chelsea is long-since forgotten.
He himself says he proved himself in a blistering 18-month spell at Wolfsburg - dubbed "madness" by Pep Guardiola - but nobody quite expected this kind of impact.
City have spent their money poorly over the years but in De Bruyne they have got it 100 per cent right. Having kept his nerve to score in the first leg, he has now added his 15th goal of a stellar debut season.
Had he not missed 10 weeks of the season, he would have had many more. Not that City fans should worry: De Bruyne will be confident of adding to his tally in the semi-finals, no matter the opposition.
As is often the way, Zlatan Ibrahimovic was the centre of attention
in the build-up to this clash. There were question marks over the
fitness of midfield metronome Marco Verratti - and indeed his
absence necessitated a complete formation change from Laurent Blanc -
but Ibrahimovic demanded most of the pre-game intrigue.All the talk suggests he will be leaving PSG this summer, and the Premier League - maybe even Manchester - looks a likely destination at the moment. But with the visitors struggling in Blanc's 3-5-2, the big Swede was starved of service and his best efforts of the night were from long-range free-kicks.
There was plenty of venom in his two efforts but nothing capable of beating Joe Hart, who of course kept out the striker's penalty in the first leg. A flick of the boot appeared to give PSG hope late on, only for the offside flag to be raised. For a man who conceded four to the same player in that memorable Sweden v England international, it will be sweet revenge for the goalkeeper. Not to mention a timely reminder of his merits as City chase Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.
But from Ibrahimovic there was little to merit the justifiable hype. While he is a player of unique talents, and has been a key member of many title-winning sides, the Champions League eludes him.
You would imagine that - despite United's riches - if he is to stay in top-level football he will choose a club that can offer him one final crack at the big-time. At the age of 34, he does not have many opportunities left.
Tuesday did at least provide an experience of what he could expect in the Premier League next season. "You're just a s**t Andy Carroll", sang the City fans.
Had Angel Di Maria had the ball for a sufficient amount of time, he
surely would have come in for some mocking abuse from the home fans,
too. But the truth is he did not come close to making an impact across
either leg. There is no doubt that he has lit up Ligue 1 this season, and that he would have had a much better chance of starring for Manchester United had he not had to work under the tedious demands of Louis van Gaal.
But he could not impose himself over two legs, even against a team that has looked so ordinary in the league of late.
City once again pulled it out of the bag on the big European occasion - a recurring theme this season - but Di Maria was brought not just to win Ligue 1 titles, but take PSG to the next level in the Champions League.
Instead, he watched on as De Bruyne, who turned down the Paris club's advances last summer, took centre stage yet again.
Rightly or wrongly, his time in England will be regarded as a stain on his career, "proof", for some, that he could not hack it. That is plainly not the case for such a talented player, one who made his name at Real Madrid. But nights like this only add to the suggestion that he is not quite worth all that money spent on transfer fees.
Pep Guardiola has been forced to live under the pressure of taking over the Champions League holders throughout his time at Bayern Munich, he will be desperate for that not to happen again.
As brightly as City started the current campaign, and as well as they played in Sevilla back in October, a night that suggested Manuel Pellegrini can indeed shuffle his pack when required, the way the Blues unravelled in February and March seemed to put paid to any hopes of making a mark on Europe.
But that is exactly what they are doing. That huge drop-off in form - as soon as it was confirmed that Guardiola would replace Pellegrini this summer - put paid to their title hopes, but could not affect their form in the League Cup, which was won at Wembley, or the Champions League, as Dynamo Kiev were crushed on their own turf as Sevilla were before them.
For whatever reason, City are producing their best form on the biggest European nights. One first team player confessed earlier this season that the pressure of winning at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan - where defeat would have all but confirmed a group stage elimination - only served to focus minds. In the Premier League, they have not been able to match it.
While they are in a battle to confirm a top-four finish in the league, they can at least prepare for the semi-finals in the knowledge that it is do or die. There is a chance to make history.
Few expected this City team to get close to a final, but that eventuality is now just 180 minutes away. Guardiola will surely be hoping he does not have to deal with taking over the holders once again. If his Bayern team get past Benfica on Wednesday, he may be the man to put a stop to it.
It has been accepted by many fans that Pellegrini has been good, but not quite good enough. Having won the Premier League title and the League Cup in his first season by playing free-flowing football, many were asking just weeks ago whether he had actually taken the club backwards during the course of his three-year reign.
It was a valid argument, having seen City fall well off the pace in the Premier League for the second year running, even if he had managed to secure a second League Cup.
City have designs on European domination and, for so long, Pellegrini did not seem the man capable of delivering.
Too often in Europe his tactics have been rigid, and despite guiding City to the group stages for the first time they were easily despatched by Barcelona in consecutive years.
That victory in Sevilla earlier this season heralded something of a turning point as he shuffled his pack and inflicted a damaging defeat on experienced European campaigners.
Two defeats to Juventus and some fortunate victories in the group stage did not give the impression that the Chilean had quite cracked it, but he cannot be faulted for guiding this team first to the quarters and now to the semi-finals.
His opposite number on the night, Blanc, made his task slightly simpler by plumping for an untested 3-5-2 formation but a switch back to 4-3-3 provided much more of a threat.
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