Pep Guardiola refused to let Liverpool’s title hangover undermine Manchester City’s statement win against the Premier League champions.
Jurgen Klopp’s side were blown away 4-0 at the Etihad as they suffered he ultimate comedown after celebrating in their first crown for 30 years.
But Guardiola hailed his fallen champions for punishing the Merseysiders on the night.
“We won against the champions,” he said. “They were incredibly focused to beat us, they didn't come here to celebrate absolutely anything.
"They drank enough beers in the early days of the week but they came here to compete against us without a doubt. Next season will be different but we have to show we can do it.
“The gap with Liverpool is more than 20 points, that is the difference. 25 two seasons ago, now 20 for them. That’s the reality. We were not consistent, we need to recover the consistency from pervious seasons and take points wherever.”
De Bruyne opened the scoring from the penalty spot before Sterling and Foden made it 3-0 at half time.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain then put through his own net in the second half to complete the rout.
Sterling added on Sky: “We knew we were behind and disappointed at times this season and lost games should have won. Tonight we had a test against the current champions to make a point and we did brilliant.
“Next season the manager said we need to go out here and try to do our best and that next season starts today and I think we did well.”
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