Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers did not have a night to remember on coming up against his former side Swansea City, with the Welsh team scoring a deserved 3-1 win over the Reds at Anfield to book themselves a place in the quarterfinals of the League Cup.
Chico and Nathan Dyer scored for Swansea to put the away side 2-0 ahead, before substitute Luis Suarez cut the deficit. However, a late goal from Jonathan De Guzman ended all hopes of a Liverpool comeback, and with it relinquishing their hold on the League Cup title they won last season.
"I thought the best team won here," Rodgers said. "In the first half we were too slow and it just wasn't what I would want or expect from my team. It was a difficult night for us.
"Swansea were bright and creative. They took their chances very well. It was disappointing to lose and to be out of the competition but I don't think we can have any complaints.
"You can only really hurt when you are the better team (and lose the game). And I thought they were the better team.
"I know the size of the job here and tonight has been another lesson for me, in terms of where we are at. It's obviously disappointing but when the other team is better than you, you have to acknowledge that and move on."
Rodgers praised Joe Allen for his efforts, with the midfielder playing against the club he left this summer for Liverpool. "Joe was incredible," Rodgers said. "You can see he has come out of that Swansea team and into our team with his brightness and his cleverness. He was virtually playing on his own in the midfield in the first half.
"I thought Jamie Carragher was outstanding. He kept going tonight and kept driving. Young Raheem Sterling came on and added brightness and so it's another game for me to take away and analyse.
"We've got a very small squad and we have been playing in three competitions. I have rotated the side, like in previous games, to look at younger players and fringe players and to give people opportunities to come into the team.
"Tonight was another good lesson."
Rodgers admitted he would have liked to rest some of his senior players, adding he was forced to bring on Steven Gerrard and Suarez at the beginning of the second half due to the lacklustre first period.
"I would have loved to have been able to keep Gerrard and Suarez on the sidelines tonight and give them that breather because they have been playing continuously and they are the catalysts for the team," he said. "But when you need them, you need to put them on. And when they did come on, in the second half, our pressure and intensity was better.
"It took their introduction to up the tempo for us and then we looked like we could score. But we just couldn't get the goal. But that will evolve over time. We can't just rely on two players all the time."