12 March 2024 , 08:00
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John Stones taunted title rivals Arsenal and Liverpool by reminding them Manchester City wear a gold Premier League badge on their shirts for a reason.
While the rest of the top-flight teams sport a purple and white Premier League logo on their sleeves, City's is gold, to signify their status as reigning champions. And after City's epic 1-1 draw at Liverpool on Sunday, Stones said Pep Guardiola's players are determined to win a fourth straight title and ensure they keep the gold badge next season
“We have the gold Premier League badges on our shirt for a reason and we want to defend that,” said Stones. “We’re proud to be the champions and we want to do it again and again.
“We know there are 10 games left and a lot to play for. The best thing we do is concentrate on us and the next game coming up. Every game is a final for us - that’s how we treat it. Going forward, we’re excited.”
Reflecting on City's hard-fought point at Anfield, Stones, who scored the opener, said: “We obviously wanted the three points and believed we could get them out of the game. But to come away with a point, we should be proud of ourselves and how we played. We managed the bad moments, which we knew were always going to happen in these big games.
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“The feeling coming off the pitch was we maybe could have taken our chances more in the first-half. That’s football and high-pressure games.
"Coming to Anfield is always difficult and we have to give respect to Liverpool and how they played. We’ve got to be proud of ourselves and take a point.”
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Stones' goal against Liverpool was his first of the season (Getty Images)On his goal, a cleverly-worked move from a corner dispatched by Kevin De Bruyne, Stones said: “Straight from the training ground. Big credit to the guys who put the set pieces together and Kevin for the quality of putting it in there.
"They put their ideas across to us, we worked on it in training yesterday and it came off, which was great. I’m happy and pleased I got on the scoresheet.
"I’ve been trying hard to contribute up the other end of the pitch and it’s nice for me - a first one of the season and hopefully I can get some more now.”
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