Manchester City boss Mark Hughes was pleased with the form of Argie fullback Pablo Zabaleta in this week's Carling Cup defeat to Brighton.

"In defeat you learn more than when you win," he told City's website, "so we'll take it all on board and look at what positives there were. I thought that Pablo Zabaleta outstanding again and really tried to force the issue with the manner of his performance. We needed a few more performances like his to win.

"It was important to give some of the guys game time, but I picked a team that was strong enough to win at Brighton, but it was not to be."