Man City’s Champions League demolition at the hands of Real Madrid was confirmation that a generation of their greatest players are reaching the end.
Kevin de Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan, two-thirds of a Champions League-winning midfield two years ago, were saluting the Manchester City fans up amongst the gods at the top of the Bernabeu Stadium.
The German is arguably City’s most successful ever captain, the lone one to lift this trophy, the Belgian probably their greatest ever player, at least until weight of goals means Erling Haaland takes that mantle.
A third arrival, Abdukodir Khusanov, played right-back; he is the fourth player to do so in as many Champions League games since Walker decided he wanted to go.
Gundogan’s successor as captain had lost his pace, jumped ship to AC Milan and exited the Champions League to Feyenoord a day earlier.
