John Stones has taunted Liverpool by claiming Manchester City remain the best team in England – despite losing the title to Jurgen Klopp's side.
Liverpool won the Premier League with seven games to spare, their first title for 30 years, bringing to an end City's two-year domestic domination.
Klopp's side are just three wins away from beating City's 100-point Premier League record and on course to eclipse Pep Guardiola's side's record 19-point winning margin.
But City beat Liverpool 4-0 when the two sides met at the Etihad Stadium last week, with defender Stones convinced Guardiola's men remain the best side in the country – despite their title failure.
Asked if he still felt City were the best side in this league, Stones said: “Yeah, we're quietly confident we are.
“We know our ability and the standard we've set for ourselves in the dressing room. Every three or four days, playing at this high standard is something to be very proud of as players.
“That’s what we keep striving to do. We want to finish this season off and take it into next season, keeping our standards and trying to better ourselves, defensively and taking our chances.”
City have lost nine games in the league this season, with Stones acknowledging they must improve next season to challenge for the title.
“It's frustrating for all of us and something we're not proud of,” said Stones.
“In previous seasons we’ve won it back to back and then this season we’ve let games slip where we’ve been on top and been the better team.
“It’s something we need to improve on. We’ve been working hard on our defensive duties, what we can offer the team when we get into certain situations.”
Stones faces an uncertain future at City, with Guardiola admitting he will talk to the defender at the end of the season.
Injuries and poor form have seen Stones fall out of favour at City, with Wednesday's 5-0 win over Newcastle his first league start since January.
Despite the bleak outlook for him, Stones remains positive and said: “I picked up an injury really early after we came back and that kept me out for over a month.
“That was frustrating after the lockdown period, when I'd worked so hard, kept myself fit and felt like I was in the best condition I've been in.
"To come back and get an injury so quickly that's kept me out until just before the Newcastle cup game was hard, so it feels great to be back.
"I feel fit and healthy, ready to fight for the Champions League and every competition we are in. They're exciting times.”
