Guardiola altered his usual starting XI by dropping winger Raheem Sterling, who's scored 21 goals this season, to the bench in favour of the more dynamic midfielder Ilkay Gundogan in order to gain ascendancy in the midfield battle.
However, after controlling possession in the opening stages, the home side raced to a three-goal lead in a devastating 20-minute spell of counter-attacking football.
When asked whether or not he felt the tactical changes were the right decision, Guardiola replied to Sky Sports reporters; "We lost 3-0.
"Did we arrive here a little bit scared? We arrived with a huge personality. Except 10-15 minutes in the first half when we lost a bit of control... from my point of view, we did really well.
"Here at Anfield it is always complicated. Until 2-0 we were there. In the second half, we reacted. We did well. We could not create chances because they defended deep but we were there for the last pass. We needed one goal and we couldn't score it."