Stand-in Manchester City keeper Willy Caballero has revealed that the club's 4-1 thrashing at home to Liverpool was a wake-up call for the team.

The Argentinean was on the bench as the Citizens conceded four times at the hands of Jurgen Klopp's team, though an injury to Joe Hart meant that Caballero started in Saturday's 3-1 victory over Southampton.

Hart's injury, described as "not very serious" by City manager Manuel Pellegrini, occured during the Sky Blues' midweek Champions League loss to Juventus.

"It was like a call with big attention - Liverpool played really well. They are a big team and we must be ready for every game and every team," Caballero told reporters following City's victory, which returned them to the top of the Premier League table.

"I think we learned after this defeat and we started again. From the first minute, we were hungry to win.

"We needed to take the top of the table again as soon as possible. We needed to win. We can't concede another result at home again because we lost two games this season. I hope we stay in the first place of the table."

Manuel Pellegrini's men face another home fixture on Tuesday as they take on Hull City in a League Cup quarter-final.