'Not many play like that at the Etihad'
Glen Johnson believes few teams in the Barclays Premier League are capable of travelling to Manchester City and performing like Liverpool did during their 2-1 defeat on Boxing Day.
The Reds pushed hard for an elusive equaliser after goals from Vincent Kompany and Alvaro Negredo overturned Philippe Coutinho's opener.
Raheem Sterling had the ball in the net for 1-0 early in the first half; however, the winger was wrongly adjudged to have strayed offside, despite timing his run to perfection.
He then went agonisingly close to equalising with 18 minutes remaining after latching onto Luis Suarez's cross, but firing over the bar.
Johnson's message post-match was that his teammates can take pride in their display - and he believes the performance proved Liverpool can compete with the best.
"We didn't deserve to lose that," Johnson told the Liverpool Echo. "The performance deserved at least a point. This is probably the most positive I've ever been after a defeat.
"There are not many teams that will come here and play like we did tonight. We proved we can compete with City. At times we dominated possession.
"Of course we came under pressure at times - that is going to happen when you are playing Manchester City at home - but we dealt with most things well.
"We played to our game plan almost perfectly. We just didn't get the points at the end of it. We had some really good chances and we are disappointed not to get anything from the game."
Negredo sprung clear of Liverpool's defence to hand City the lead minutes before the interval.
Samir Nasri and Jesus Navas combined to scythe the Reds' defence apart before the Spaniard hammered at Simon Mignolet and the 'keeper could only push the ball into his own net.
Johnson explained that while the Belgian stopper was disappointed with conceding in such a manner, his professionalism shone through in the dressing room afterwards.
"We haven't had to put an arm around him," said Johnson. "Simon has been fantastic for us all year.
"He's a strong lad - he's mentally tough. Everyone makes mistakes and he will bounce back."
A trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea, who are a point and a place ahead of Liverpool in the league standings, is next for the Reds on Sunday afternoon.
While Jose Mourinho's side have not produced flawless home form akin to the sort demonstrated by City so far this season, the Blues have not lost on home turf, winning eight out of nine.
And Johnson believes returning to winning ways in the capital, after the disappointment of defeat at the Etihad, is essential if the Reds are to prove they can stay in contention at the top of the table.
"No team fighting for the top four wants to lose two games in a row," he said. "We played fantastic against City and we'll take the positives out of it and move on to Sunday. We have to put this behind us and focus on Chelsea.
"Everyone looks forward to the big games. Sometimes it's easier to play against big teams as it brings more out of you.
"The sign of a good team is one which bounces back from a disappointing result and that's what we will be looking to do on Sunday. We know we have the quality to be up there near the top. On our day we can give anyone a game."