De Bruyne has no sympathy for Liverpool over narrow title miss

The 27-year-old Belgian midfielder says simply his side were better than Liverpool. City, who face Watford in the FA Cup final on Saturday chasing a historic domestic treble, retained their title by a point from Liverpool.

De Bruyne says no one would have felt sorry for City when they lost to Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League quarter-final. "No," he said this week when asked did he have sympathy for Liverpool. "It's a remarkable effort but it means that we were just better than them in the end.

"I don't feel sorry for them because I don't think they'd feel sorry for us. "I don't think anybody felt sorry about the way we went out of the Champions League."

He played a less influential role than in City's 2017/18 title triumph, starting just 11 league matches with bit parts in eight others due to two serious knee injuries and then a hamstring problem. De Bruyne, who had a superb 2018 being named City's player of the 2017/18 season and then sparkled for Belgium as they finished a best ever third in the World Cup, says Liverpool feeling sore is understandable.

"I know how they feel because you're going to feel disappointed," said De Bruyne, who is fit for selection for the Cup final. "We'd feel the same if it happened to us. But we're still competitors. We want to win as much as they do but I can understand the feelings they have."

De Bruyne, whose high point in what he admits has "not been the most fun season" has come off the pitch with his second son being born, is a great believer in football being played through emotions. However, he says the introduction of VAR -- it was that which cost City victory over Spurs in the Champions League as Raheem Sterling's late goal was ruled out for offside -- is removing that ingredient from the game.

"For me football is still a game of emotions," he said. "I don't like how people try to take emotions out of the game, because what it's about is having fun, enjoying. "If you win you're happy, if you lose you are sad. And that's what it's all about.

"That's why I also don't like the new things like VAR because it takes, for me, all the passion out and it becomes more - you need be more like a robot these days."