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And here’s the rub, the bulk of the work in this tie was done in the first leg. Liverpool’s 3-0 advantage meant that an away goal here would change the world. And, 11 minutes into the second half, Salah provided it. His 39th of the season was the sweetest of all . It was like taking a pin to a balloon. Game over, tie over. Party time in the away end. Allez, Allez, Allez!
 
Roberto Firmino rubbed salt into City wounds 13 minutes from time with a finish of unerring quality. Win the tie? Pep Guardiola’s side didn’t even win on the night. They had a go, but by the time the final whistle came, it felt like an act of mercy. The manager finished the game in the stands, sent off at half-time for protesting at referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz . In the end, all the home fans had was their anger. And their plastic flags. They were streaming out long before the end.
 
As for Jurgen Klopp, he could reflect on a performance of heart, character and, when it mattered, composure too. They may have been timid to begin with, but they puffed their chests out after the break. There were big performances all over.
 
Dejan Lovren, in particular, was immense, a tower of strength at a time when his side needed exactly that. Alongside him, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold recovered from difficult starts, while Gini Wijnaldum, James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain can be proud of themselves. City asked question after question - their first-half performance was a masterclass - but by the end their will had gone. Liverpool broke them.
 
It is either a brave or a foolish man who writes off Liverpool in Europe. OK, it can seem cliched at times, and fans of rival clubs rarely appreciate the sentiment, but the sight of the cup with big ears really does bring out the best in this club. Call them premature, call them naïve, call them what you want, but Reds fans will be checking out Kiev flights and hotels after this. Who could blame them?
 
Klopp had described City as “the best team in the world” ahead of this game, but Liverpool have now beaten them three times this season, and deservedly so. Do you think they’re worried about anyone else? Do you think Robert Lewandowski or Edin Dzeko scares them? Do you think Anfield will bow down to Cristiano Ronaldo or Gareth Bale? No chance!
 
European Royalty", read the flag in the away end, and they’re ready to take their seat at the top table again. This was some night, some performance, some result.
 
In the end, for all Manchester City can look back on the ifs and buts, the nearly moments that were both in and out of their control on a wild night at the Etihad Stadium, what cost them against Liverpool were their own shortcomings.
 
Gabriel Jesus' goal after just two minutes set up a frantic night in Manchester but Mohamed Salah's cool finish, after nearly an hour of constant City attacking and controversial refereeing decisions, all but finished the tie.
 
Predictably, on the evidence of the last two games, City were their own worst enemy when Nicolas Otamendi slipped near his own box, gifted Firmino possession and watched on as the Brazilian calmly slotted in his side's second of the night. That did finish it.
 
City had been brilliant up until that point but the inquest will show another flaky performance when things went against them.
 
After damaging defeats against Liverpool in the first leg and against Manchester United at the weekend, Pep Guardiola had insisted he had been happy with his team's reaction to conceding three goals in little over 15 minutes, despite the fact that they looked shell-shocked on both occasions.
 
He said that if the same happened here, it would at least stand them in good stead for the future. After giving this all they could in the first half, that is all the consolation they are left with as they now re-focus their minds on sewing up the Premier League title. And it's Tottenham away on Saturday.
 
Yes, City can have legitimate complaints about the referee here.
Guardiola himself was sent off at half-time for confronting Spanish official Mateu Lahoz after City were denied what would have been their second goal by a questionable offside decision. Following a scramble the ball rebounded off Reds midfielder James Milner, towards Leroy Sane and into the back of the net. It was ruled out, only adding to the Blues' frustration after they had just seen Bernardo Silva crack a superb effort off the post.
 
City also felt they were hard done by last week at Anfield - on another night Salah would have been flagged offside before the Reds' early opener, while Jesus' tap-in after Sane was ruled offside would have handed them a vital away goal. Both decisions were extremely tight. These are the margins at this level.
 
Liverpool were on the ropes in the first half and their goalkeeper, Loris Karius, took to timewasting from the seventh minute onwards. It had seemed that Lahoz was ready to add that time on at the end of a first half which also involved five yellow cards, but he blew exactly on 45 minutes.
 
And City's frustration only grew after half-time when Firmino, who was booked for curtailing a Kevin De Bruyne break in the first half, did exactly the same thing, but avoided punishment, or even a free-kick.
 
But while the Blues can feel hard done-by about what might have been, they will also have to look at themselves. As soon as Salah scored, that was that. City, again, had no answers.
 
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