Bernardo Silva bagged a brace on Wednesday night as Manchester City crushed Real Madrid 4-0 to advance to the Champions League final for the second time in three years.
The Portugal international midfielder opened the scoring at the Etihad Stadium mid way through the first-half to confirm City's early dominance and give the hosts a 2-1 aggregate advantage over the holders.
Just before half-time, Silva grabbed his second goal of the night by nodding in a loose ball after Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois had repelled Ilkay Gundogan's strike from the edge of the penalty area.
During last year's semi-final between the sides, Madrid famously scored three goals in the last six minutes to overturn a two-goal deficit and advance 6-5 on aggregate.
Chastened after such a setback, City's players showed no mercy even after Gabriel Militao put through his own net on 76 minutes to give them a 3-0 lead on the night.
Phil Foden set up fellow substitute Julian Alvarez to add the icing on the cake.
City's fans danced in the stands to celebrate a clinical destruction.
Joy
“It’s a beautiful night for us,” Silva told the British broadcaster BT Sport.
“We knew it was going to be tough but to beat this Madrid team 4-0 at home it was wonderful. It’s a wonderful feeling to be in the final again and hopefully this time we can try to win it.”
City will go into the final against Inter Milan on 10 June at the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul as overwhelming favourites to lift their first Champions League trophy.
Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi conceded before the City v Madrid clash that his side – 3-0 aggregate winners over AC Milan – would be the underdogs against whoever emerged from the tie.
Warning
But Silva said his teammates would not be complacent against the Italians.
“I watched Inter's match against Milan on Tuesday and they’re a very organised team," he added.
"I watched Inter's games also against Barcelona and Munich in the group stages and against Benfica in the quarter-finals.
"Inter look very organised defensively and quick going in the counter-attack as well as in set-pieces. It’s going to be tough but we’re going to try it.”
Should Arsenal fail to beat Nottingham Forest on Saturday night, City will be crowned English Premier League champions for the third consecutive season.
However, if Arsenal win at the City Ground, Manchester City can claim the spoils with victory over mid table Chelsea on Sunday at the Etihad.
