Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte says there's "only one winner" in their rivalry with Manchester United and insists Pep Guardiola's side are "superior in all areas" to Liverpool.
Laporte has taken a stab at City’s two biggest rivals ahead of the resumption of the Premier League season this weekend.
City are currently top of the table but have seen a 14-point lead over Liverpool reduced to just one after dropping points against Tottenham and Crystal Palace prior to the international break.
Liverpool, meanwhile, are on a nine-game winning run in the Premier League.
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Jurgen Klopp’s side face Watford on Saturday, while City take on Burnley - before the two title contenders meet in a mouth-watering clash at the Etihad on April 10.
Laporte insists City are unfazed by Liverpool's resurgence and is confident the reigning champions will successfully defend their Premier League title this season.
"The football we play, no one else plays in the world. We’re an example of how to play nice football, to be superior in all areas," he told The Guardian,.
"I think they’d like even part of our game. As for us having something of them: taking chances and benefiting from opponents’ errors a little more, because often we have the opportunity and don’t take it.
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“We let the other team off. But there’s nothing to be envious about.”
It is easy to understand why Laporte is so bullish, with City still firmly in contention for the treble this season.
On Tuesday, they host Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final, and will also come up against Liverpool in the semi-finals of the FA Cup at Wembley on April 16.
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Laporte believes City’s consistency in recent seasons has made them a target in English football - with other clubs, most notably on the other side of Manchester, desperate for them to slip up.
“You notice that,” Laporte added.
“Maybe it’s not that they’re tired of us but they don’t think it’s normal we always win. If I’m not mistaken, we’ve won 11 trophies in four years [in fact 10 in the last four seasons which include two Community Shields]; that can annoy people, like our neighbours who haven’t won anything.
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“They [Manchester United] have a lot of supporters, we’re in the same city. It’s hard [for them] to understand. But there’s only one winner. They’ve spent a lot of money too.
“We’re humans, people have to understand that: just as we beat United, we lost to Palace. You can’t explain that with money. However much a player costs, that doesn’t mean he’s going to be the best.
“It’s not an exact science. We’re leaders, a point ahead of Liverpool. We have the best defence – and [yet] people throw defensive issues at us. I don’t want to imagine what our neighbours…
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“At times, that annoys players a bit, but that’s society. We have played a lot of finals, won a lot of trophies, picked up a lot of points: 100, 98... it’s incredible, una barbaridad [an atrocity]. But people always want more.
“And they seem to think the other side aren’t playing. Only one team can win. Look, I like playing this way; the problem isn’t the style; the problem is that society blames you, basically.”
Topics: Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Aymeric Laporte, Football, Premier League
Rory O'Callaghan