Pep Guardiola considered it the best performance by his Manchester City team. Not just beating Real Madrid but playing for 45 minutes and barely giving the Champions League holders a kick.

There was no way out for Madrid as Guardiola’s players pressed them in their own territory, forcing them into errors. It was a group effort that started with Erling Haaland but also saw Jack Grealish, not known for his tracking back, tackling his opponents when he did not have the ball. “They pretty well overwhelmed us,” said Real full-back Dani Carvajal.

In the first leg, Real were able to play through the press thanks to the genius of Luka Modric but all roads were blocked this time around and Real could not keep the ball. After 45 minutes, they had 28 per cent possession – an incredible statistic for a team packed with stars looking to defend their trophy.

Guardiola says Walker cannot play as an inverted full-back and will no longer tuck into central midfield. But as an out-and-out defender he is unrivalled for pace. His display against Vinicius Junior, one of the most lethal forwards in Europe, was flawless and the Brazilian was pinned back into his own half.

When Vinicius got on the ball eventually, just after the half-hour mark, he had a yard on Walker yet the England full-back managed to catch him and pinch the ball back without going to ground. It was a memorable moment to go with the high-five the players gave each other after the final whistle at the Bernabéu. That was pure respect from both sides and Vinicius will have plenty more after this performance from Walker.

“I’m glad it looked comfortable from up there in the TV studio,” he said afterwards to broadcasters. “Listen, it’s tough. It’s always going to be tough. I think the emotions sometimes take hold of you. I was a little ‘Phew, how is this going to go?’”

Kevin De Bruyne’s starting position was on the inside right and that is where he did most damage. From there he has the cross to the far post or the pass through which he executed for the opening goal, threading the ball through two other midfield geniuses in Modric and Toni Kroos. It set Bernardo Silva up perfectly.

De Bruyne then popped up all across the midfield, delivering balls into dangerous areas. There was even a surprise free-kick shot when everyone was expecting a cross. There was a quick corner that led to an incredible save from Thibaut Courtois to deny Haaland, all stemming De Bruyne’s vision and being the playmaker to find his team-mates’ runs.

Dressed in his turtle-neck and blazer, Guardiola turned to the crowd and whirred his arms around and asked for noise. It came at 0-0 when Rodri had just gone close with a shot across goal and the noise levels went up. City fans can be accused of being quiet, but not on evenings like this.

They were put in the mood by Bernardo riding tackles and then exactly a little revenge on Kroos by sending him into the corner flag. Maybe not a “reducer” but a series of tackles that showed the crowd that City fans were willing to fight for their place in the Champions League final.

“I told them to think about whether they wanted to play Inter Milan in the final,” said Guardiola. “If they really did, we would win.” Towards the end of the first half Carvajal was complaining about rough treatment as City were totally on top.

City seemed to target Eduardo Camavinga, who was playing out of position at left-back rather than in his preferred midfield role. They attacked down his flank and Bernardo and De Bruyne outnumbered him in that area.

But there were overloads right across the midfield, particularly with John Stones stepping forward to add more numbers. Rodri had time to pick passes or shoot – he had options to do either on several occasions – while Ilkay Gundogan kept the ball moving, usually forwards. Grealish went one-on-one against Carvajal, who ended up not knowing what to do as the England forward mixed up dribbles and using his team-mates with passes. His cross created a chance that Haaland should have scored from a few yards out.

It should not be underestimated how difficult Bernardo’s finishes were when the chances eventually came to City. For the first goal, it needed something special to beat Courtois and he gave the Belgian keeper the eyes for the far post before twisting his body and sending the finish into the near side of the goal.

For the second goal, it was an excellent controlled header, lobbing over the last defender when it would have been easy to panic and go for power. “I’m very good with my head,” he says with a laugh. “I’m small but I’m good with my head,” he said.

“My performance in the first leg in Madrid wasn’t the one I wanted and I wanted to try to compensate for that because I didn’t feel very good at all after the first game. Today I had to do better for my team-mates, for the fans and that’s what I tried to do.”

Guardiola says it was the best his City team have produced and it is hard to argue against that. Among the most emphatic Champions League wins, one of the recent performances was Liverpool against Barcelona when they won 4-0 in their memorable Anfield comeback.

AC Milan’s win against Barcelona in the 1994 final is also ranked as one of the finest, while Manchester United’s win against Roma, winning 7-1, was another great display from a British team. 

• The Telegraph report