British and Irish Lions captain Maro Itoje believes the team "only showed glimmers" of what they are capable of in their defeat to Argentina.

The Lions' first game under Andy Farrell ended in disappointment as they suffered a 28-24 defeat to the Pumas in Dublin, where they were playing for the first time.

Argentina had surged into a half-time lead, and though the Lions fought back, edging in front thanks to Tadhg Beirne's try, Santiago Cordero completed the turnaround.

It is the first time the Lions have lost their tour opener since 1971, having gone unbeaten in 13 matches since then (W12 D1), excluding one-off fixtures, though that draw also came against Argentina.

Despite the loss, Itoje remained optimistic as he saw positives, though he admitted they still had work to do before setting off for Australia.

"We weren't as consistent as we would have liked to be. We only showed glimmers of what we can do," Itoje told Sky Sports.

"When we were on it, we looked good, we just need to do it more consistently. We want to be more aggressive, but we are building. It wasn't quite that, we will live, learn and get better.

"Argentina showed us where we are lacking. I am happy we had a hard-fought game. We live and learn. This is only match one."

The Lions dominated possession, with 59%, and also had 150 carries to Argentina's 94, though they were unable to capitalise on their dominance.

It was not the start Farrell would have wanted to make after stepping into the job, and he bemoaned the errors his team made throughout.

"It was a show from Argentina. Congrats, they deserved the win and capitalised on all the errors we made," he said to Sky Sports.

"There is a lot to do. You can't win a Test with that error rate. We lost enough balls in that game for a full tour, throwing balls that weren't on.

"They were hungrier than us with the ball on the ground. There was good and bad throughout. We were just a little bit off; I take responsibility for that.

"I hope we are better off for that. We will keep building for the Test matches."