Comment: Pep proves why he's the best in the business

And Manchester City prove they are the best team of the modern era.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola celebrates victory. Pic Credit: Tim Goode/PA Wire.

One moment in the 76th minute of this tumultuous game summed up just why Pep Guardiola is the best coach in the business and is presiding over the best team of the modern era.

As Kevin De Bruyne prepared to take a free-kick, having failed to clear the first defender with his previous two efforts, Guardiola ran down the touchline some 30 yards out of his technical area and pointed out exactly where he wanted the Belgian to place his cross.

The Belgian duly obliged, whipping in a fast, curling delivery that was tailor-made for Manuel Akanji to flick with his head, with the ball flying off Eder Militao and into the net to confirm Guardiola's genius and City's place in next month's Champions League final against Inter, in Istanbul.

What was billed as the de-facto final between two of the finest sides in world football turned out to be a one-sided turkey shoot, with City finally getting the scoreline they deserved for dominating most of the 180 minutes of a memorable semi-final.

There was to be no repeat of City's tame exit to Real Madrid at this stage seven years ago, when a goalless draw at the Etihad was followed by a 1-0 defeat in Spain. Nor was there the nervy capitulation from last season when City led by two goals going into the 90th minute of their second leg in Madrid, only to concede twice in a minute and lose in stoppage time.

This is a City side made of sterner stuff, learning different ways to win and relentless in their pursuit of silverware. They blew Arsenal out of the title race with an 11-game winning streak that has all but confirmed their fifth Premier League in six years, and are now on course to match Manchester United's treble from 1999.

They were the better side from start to finish and should have won by an even bigger margin. Madrid were restricted to a couple of long efforts, one from Toni Kroos that hit the bar, a David Alaba effort that was tipped over by Ederson, who also saved well from Rodrygo.

But City missed chances to make it more, with Thibaut Courtois denying Erling Haaland twice and preventing the irrepressible Bernardo Silva from claiming a hat-trick.

City's fans were in raptures at the final whistle, surely expecting to beat Inter in the final on June 10, and the sounds of “Glad all Over” and, of course “Blue Moon” rang round the Etihad.

Yet the atmosphere had been muted in and around the stadium before kick-off.

Apart from the now obligatory flares that greeted the team coaches on arrival, the build-up had the air of an end-of-season game once the title has been won, which is effectively the case in the Premier League.

But there was genuine jeopardy at the start of this match with the teams on level terms after last week's thrilling but inconclusive draw in Madrid.

Once the game got underway, however, it was apparent who was going to win. City started like a steam train, with Madrid barely able to get going. It was thrilling, brutal and beautiful to watch.

Three times before half-time the home supporters were on their feet and roaring with joy. Silva's two goals brought the expected response, the first, midway through the first-half, puncturing any lingering doubts that City would do what they did last week, dominate the opening period but get caught on the counter by a sucker punch.

Silva's second shortly before half-time rewarded their dominance and put a two-goal margin between them and the Spanish side, although as we saw last season, that was no guarantee of victory.

And in between the goals, City's fans erupted when Kyle Walker raced back to dispossess Vinicius Junior as the jet-heeled winger bore down on goal. Walker's battle with the Brazilian last week had been one of many intriguing subplots, especially after the England man spoke about their hug of respect after the game.

Walker winning his own personal battle was symptomatic of the way it was working out perfectly for Guardiola. Managers often tell their players in pre-match 'if you win your one-to-one battles, we win the war' and so it proved.

Jack Grealish had a right old 'ding-dong' with Dani Carvajal last week, with both claiming wins, but the City man was undoubtedly on top this time. Karim Benzema barely got a sniff with Ruben Dias in imperious form, and Haaland caused all sorts of problems for Militao and Alaba.

Even Madrid's majestic midfielders struggled to get a foothold in this one-sided game. Luka Modric, a man who could find space in the Notting Hill Carnival, found himself crowded out, and after backheeling the ball out of play at one point, turned to complain to his team-mates about the lack of movement or options.

By contrast, Kevin De Bruyne was enjoying the freedom of East Manchester until he ran out of steam. It mattered little, as Akanji scored the killer goal and Julian Alvarez added a cherry on top of the cake in the dying minutes.

Only Inter, and United in the FA Cup final can now stop Guardiola's men from doing an historic treble – but having taken apart the reigning European Champions in such comprehensive fashion, City can go into both games confident of more success.