It is not a "psychological blow" according to Brendan Rodgers as he claimed that the Liverpool's lost will not drag the club's title, just as what happened last season, and he showed confidence in declaring that his side will definitely bounce back into the winning momentum.

"I think up until the 40th minute we were the best team but we switched off in the final period," he said. "We didn't defend it well enough and were 1-0 down. At 2-0 it is difficult for us, but to our credit we kept going."

He added: "I felt we needed to be quicker in our actions in the final third, we needed to be more dynamic, but we looked a threat, which is important."

"This is a difficult place to come, but we will continue to work, we'll get better, it just wasn't our night. There is no psychological blow; there is a long way to go. It was a tough game but we'll move on."

"In the corresponding fixtures from last season, Southampton and Man City, we had no points, so we've got three points, we weren't so good second half, but it's not going to hurt us, we've just got to refocus and look ahead to the weekend."

Rodgers crossed his fingers to take off the leash of the newly signed Mario Balotelli in helping the club's play to improve in terms of attack; the Italian then finished his signing from AC Milan.

"Balotelli is a world class talent and it's an area we needed to strengthen," added Rodgers. "It's a calculated risk but hopefully we can bring him in and improve him as a player and a young man. I think he can do very well for us."

He continued: "He knows he's part of a team, there are no big egos or 'Big-time Charlies' in this group and he knows he's got to fit into the culture of this club."

(Source: Barclays Premier League official website)