Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said he is "so proud' of his side after their 3-1 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
Guardiola's side conceded two goals in the opening 13 minutes from Fabinho and Mo Salah, before another goal from Sadio Mané after 51 minutes looked to have sealed the win for Liverpool.
Manchester City did get a consolation through Bernardo Silva in the second-half but couldn't push on to put Liverpool under pressure in the final passage of the game.
After the game Guardiola went on to the pitch to sarcastically thank referee Mike Oliver after his decision not to award Manchester City a penalty before Liverpool's opening goal.
Speaking to Skysports after the game, Guardiola said his side "showed why we are the champions".
"The way we played was incredible," Guardiola smiled.
"I am so proud of my team more than ever. To make this performance against the strongest team in Europe - so proud. I am so proud, we played so good.
Asked whether his side should have been awarded a penalty in the first-half, Guardiola remained tight-lipped only a sarcastic smile hinting at his true feelings.
"That is to the referees. Ask to the referees please, not to me. Ask to Mike Reilly and the guys who are in the VAR, don't ask to me. We tried to do our job and we would like to talk about our performance because it so good."
"I know the teams when they come here and the way they play with respect for Anfield and the problems we have in our squad and the way we played was awesome.
"One of the best performance that we have played.
"We played in a way that showed the reason we are back to back champions.
Asked if his side simply just didn't take their chances on the day, Guardiola was coy.
"That is part of the game. We lost because they scored three goals and we scored one," he said.
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