Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini was buoyant after his players were able to keep Liverpool ace Luis Suarez quiet on Boxing Day.
City fell behind when Philippe Coutinho scored in the 24th minute at the Etihad Stadium but goals from Vincent Kompany and Alvaro Negredo before half-time gave the home side maximum points.
Pellegrini spoke of his team's character to fight back from being a goal down and pointed out the Suarez, who has scored 19 times in the Premier League this season, did not have his usual effect on the contest.
"I am very happy with the response because it is not easy when you face such a difficult team, especially on the counter-attack when you are losing 1-0," he said.
"I think today we defended very well."
On Suarez, he added: "They did very well, especially against Suarez.
"He is a great striker. He is in his best moment so it was very difficult for our team not to lose one second in the whole match."
