On a night of high tension at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City stood tallest to book their place in the Champions League semi-finals at the expense of Paris Saint-Germain.

Even 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.