The focus was on the past when Manchester City players came together with supporters in the city centre to celebrate their unprecedented treble last season.
While the obvious question to follow success is what comes next, Pep Guardiola - a man who immediately sought out Raheem Sterling on the Wembley pitch after the 6-0 FA Cup final win to tell him what he needs to do better - insisted he had given "zero" thought to next season.
It was curious, then, to hear Bernardo Silva use the microphone to make an unprompted demand of fans. "I think you guys, the supporters, need to demand more from us," one of the club's most popular players urged. "You need to demand European trophies."
Bernardo was following the same line as his manager ahead of the quarter-final second leg with Tottenham when he declared that he had no doubts his team wanted to make the last four but needed to see the same from the crowd.
It's understandable that the squad want to be pushed any way they can: the coaches 'don't let the players breathe' during the season and Liverpool have been credited with pushing the Blues on in the Premier League. At the same time, it is as rational that the players and fans may have different needs and attitudes to the Champions League.
That the Etihad atmosphere was so good for that game was not necessarily a response to Guardiola at all but merely a reflection of it being a big game against an excellent team where there was a real sense of jeopardy - just like the league game against Liverpool in January that the manager had invoked as an example of what he wanted.
The issues with UEFA from supporters are well-known, and there is also an anxious sense of not getting carried away from a fanbase that is not used to dominating English football but has plenty of experience watching their closest rivals do it.
However, as everyone gets more accustomed to the team's loftier position there is a sense that the allure of the Champions League is growing stronger.
Kevin Parker, general secretary of the official supporters' club, said that he never expected to celebrate City winning four trophies in his lifetime as he basked in the 'fourmidable' celebrations on Monday. The league may remain a priority for most but the Blues now have other milestones in their sights.
"This season the Premier League was the most important one to win and we've ended up winning three," said Parker.
"Maybe it's because I wasn't brought up watching European football but the most important one for me is the league so the starting point again for me next season will be to retain the Premier League; if we can win the Premier League three times on the bounce that's something special.
"But as a fan, I would like to win the Champions League. There's a lot of crazy negativity about City fans thinking we don't want to win the Champions League. Of course we do!
"It's the premier cup competition in Europe and if Spurs win it this year that means Chelsea, United, Liverpool, and Spurs will have won it. I want City to be part of that elite English group that have won it."
