Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart said that his team’s European toils had paid off after they beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 on Tuesday to reach the Champions League semi-finals.
Eliminated in the last 16 in the previous two seasons, and in the group phase in the two campaigns prior to that, City completed a 3-2 aggregate victory over much-fancied French champions PSG thanks to a fantastic 76th-minute strike from Kevin De Bruyne.
City will now take their place in the last four for the first time in the club’s history and Hart believes that their performances against PSG prove that they deserve to be there.
“An amazing night for us,” Hart told BT Sport at the Etihad Stadium. “We have worked hard in this competition. We struggled to start with, but we have started to compete.  
“Credit to PSG, I thought they made it a fantastic encounter. I thought we really did shine in this leg. It was fantastic from the whole team, even those not on the bench.”
With Sergio Aguero missing a first-half penalty, City’s fans endured a night of nerves until De Bruyne delivered the killer blow with a curling shot from outside the penalty area.
The Belgian playmaker, City’s record £55 million signing, said that his side would relish the opportunity to test themselves against another European heavyweight in the last four.
“It feels great. We played a very good game. PSG didn’t create a lot and I think we deserved to go through,” he said.
“We are in the semi-finals—anything can happen. It will be tough, but we are looking forward to it.”