Douglas Luiz expressed his disappointment after defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion but urged Aston Villa to remain positive and stride forward together.
The Villans saw their four-match unbeaten run in the Premier League come to an end at the Amex Stadium.
It was only a second defeat in their last eight away league matches for fourth-placed Villa, who remain seven points clear of Tottenham Hotspur.
Unai Emery’s side will now be looking to bounce back in the second leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final at Olympiacos.
“We’re disappointed because we lost the game and three points for us or one point is really important,” said Luiz, speaking post-match on the south coast.
He added: “We can’t lose the game, we need some points – one point is important, three points is important.
“And we just need to get our heads up after this because we are disappointed, I think we did good.
“But it’s football, we can lose too.
“And the most important thing is after we lose, we put our heads in the same direction and we go together.”
Joao Pedro bagged a late winner for the Seagulls, his 87th-minute penalty saved by Robin Olsen before the striker reacted quickest to head home the rebound.
Olsen had earlier made excellent saves to deny Pedro and Pascal Groß, while the latter saw his second-half finish at the near post ruled out for offside following a VAR review.
“I think we had a good game, the first half we had control of the game,” said Luiz.
“In the second half, myself and Ginny can do a little bit better with and without the ball.
“But the game we played was good.
“I think Brighton is an amazing team, their build-up is so good.
“We can lose and we can win, what is important is to get our heads up and focus on the next games.”
