Joe Hart believes Manchester City are primed for European success after qualifying for the Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday.
The Citizens beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 at the Etihad thanks to Kevin de Bruyne’s second-half strike to go through 3-2 on aggregate and into their first-ever last-four tie at Europe’s top level.
Despite winning the Capital One Cup, City have endured a fairly disappointing season to date. They currently sit fourth in the Premier League and, before Tuesday’s win, many fans had already turned their attention to next term and the arrival of new boss Pep Guardiola.
However, they now have plenty to play for and with De Bruyne fit again and captain Vincent Kompany also set to be available for the semi-finals, confidence is back flowing through the dressing room following their triumph against the star-studded Parisians.
Goalkeeper Hart is one of the few players left over from the club’s first Champions League campaign in 2011-12 and has been through the heartache of falling short on a number of occasions in Europe’s
biggest club competition.
Although the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Guardiola’s Bayern Munich are still in the competition, the England stopper believes City are coming good at the right time and is confident they will only improve in the final weeks of the season.
“It’s an amazing night for us. We’ve worked hard in this competition,” he said. “I’ve been here since the start of this Champions League run. We did struggle to start with but we’ve started to piece together results.
“We’re getting everyone fit now. Vinnie is fit and we’re looking to finish the season on a high note.”
City are currently 7.00 to win the Champions League, with Barcelona the 2.50 favourites ahead of Bayern who are priced at 3.25.
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