The Clarets were beaten 5-1 at the Etihad on Saturday, though Parker drew plenty of positives.
He explained, "I was delighted with the performance for 60 or 70 minutes. We were right in it at times against a colossus club.
"We needed to be brave and courageous today and I thought we did that well. The game got away from us at the backend and I'm not sure the scoreline is a fair reflection.
"My feeling is that my team played very well. The end of the game has disappointing bits - I understand that - and the game got away from us.
"We understand what the journey looks like, you can come and get beat at Manchester City, but it's important to look at the positives and keep going.
"We've had tough fixtures to start the season, we've come up against arguably the top three or four teams in the first six games. I've seen the team improve over those game and that's what we need to focus on."