Trent Alexander-Arnold didn't even have to think twice when, as a guest at the recent Formula One Spanish Grand Prix, he was put on the spot over who he thought would win the Champions League final between Manchester City and Inter Milan.
"I think Man City are always favourites for everything," was the swift response from the Liverpool defender.
Sure enough, City underlined their relentless domination of recent years by ending their wait for a first European Cup triumph with narrow victory over a spirited but limited Inter Milan in Istanbul on Saturday night.
While the manner of City's victory in a disappointing match means the legacy of Liverpool at the Ataturk Stadium remains very much undiminished - and, as much as some were desperately attempting to suggest otherwise, the instinctive save by Ederson to repel Romelu Lukaku's poor header wasn't on a par with Jerzy Dudek's heroics to stop Andriy Shevchenko at the same end in 2005 - it meant the Etihad side had navigated the one remaining hurdle of the Pep Guardiola era.
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On the pitch at least, City have now answered all the questions that have been asked of them. And, continued off-field uncertainty notwithstanding, unless their moneybags Abu Dhabi owners grow bored of conquering all - the Club World Cup will surely follow later this year - they will remain the team to beat for the foreseeable future.
Throughout the ranks, City rule. Premier League champions, European champions and FA Cup winners, their U21 and U18 teams also once again won their respective leagues. Only the League Cup - a trophy they have won six times in the last decade - evaded them.
Of course, there is no way Liverpool can stop City further closing the gap to their six European Cups next season having this term finished outside the top four. Their battle in the Champions League has been put temporarily on hold.
Domestically, though, is a different story. Bookmakers already have Liverpool as second favourites behind the odds-on City, and it's not entirely without basis. Yes, Arsenal ran City close for much of this season in the Premier League until a catastrophic collapse over the closing months. And even then, their tally of 84 points saw them eventually finish a distant five points behind a City side who took their foot off the gas in the final week with the job having been done.
Indeed, after Guardiola's reign truly kicked into being when romping home to the title five years ago with 100 points, Jurgen Klopp's Reds have been the only team capable of seriously challenging City, twice finishing just a point behind the Etihad side having accrued 97 and 92 points, and claiming the title in 2019/20 to prevent their chief rivals from claiming six championships in a row.
And for all the travails Liverpool suffered during much of this campaign, they were once again the only team capable of seriously keeping pace with City at the business end of the season, taking 24 points from 30 during the final 10 games.
Just how close the Reds can again get to Guardiola's side will most likely be dependent on what happens in the transfer market. City, like other top sides, won't stand still, but at least Liverpool have stolen an early march by snapping up Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton. More will follow, and they are needed. And as for whether making the jump from fifth to challenging for the title is possible, Arsenal this season are strong evidence in the affirmative.
There will also be a greater picture of the immediate future once the Premier League fixture list is revealed on Thursday. Liverpool's early travails this term weren't helped by being top-loaded with tough away trips. And while the conclusion of the Anfield Road stand redevelopment means they will start on the road, a more balanced schedule could ease the adaptation process for new signings and allow momentum from the end of this season to be maintained.
The debate over whether the current City side is the greatest England has ever produced will now rage - for a start, there's a strong argument their 2018/19 team was better man for man - but while the players and management are rightly hugely admired for setting new standards of consistent excellence, there is a glaring obstacle that prevents them from being loved in the same manner as the finest teams of other clubs and eras, Liverpool included. It's perhaps the one achievement Guardiola, for all his clear desire, will never attain at the Etihad.
But Alexander-Arnold is right. City are the favourites for everything. This season they joined Liverpool (1978/79 to 1983/84) and Manchester United (1995/96 to 2000/01) in winning five titles in six years. No team in English football has ever dominated to an extent of winning six out of seven championships, which will be their aim next term.
In truth, the obvious advantages City have long enjoyed mean they should be winning everything they enter, year after year. Mercifully, though, sport rarely works along such simplistic lines.
And Liverpool have to ensure they once again put themselves in the right place to capitalise when City eventually do falter. After all, as the Reds know better than most, every empire must fall eventually.
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