Pep Guardiola has pinpointed the tactical problem which has led to Manchester City leaking goals.
The Blues have conceded 14 goals in their first 14 Premier League fixtures, more than at any time in the last decade.
And that statistic sees them sitting in third place in the table, nine points behind leaders Liverpool, as they head for Newcastle.
The defensive frailty reared its head again in midweek as City could only draw 1-1 at home to Shakhtar Donetsk, although the result was good enough to see them top their Champions League group.
Guardiola was asked to explain what the problem was, and joked that he would need a video machine and tactics board to explain it properly.
But he summarised the difficulty as being a case of the team not controlling counter-attacks as well as they have in the past.
“We (need to) concede fewer counter attacks than normal, they (the players) know we are a team that have to control perfectly the counter-attacks from the opponent,” said Guardiola.
“They know what they have to do. You saw against Shakhtar we were much, much better than them, the first half we suffered a little bit, and the second half they had the goal and nothing else.
“You have to adjust a little bit to situations, that's all.”
Asked to go into more detail, Guardiola said: “The players know but it's complicated to explain. I give you a lot of credit as a journalist, but we'd need a machine to explain that - when we lose the ball, trying not to concede a counter-attack, it's simple.
“Sometimes we lose the ball in positions we don't have to lose, sometimes we want to start on one side and finish on the other side.
“We attack quicker, make more passes and more presses, and it helps to be together – it's not just one thing.
“The other thing helps us to be more solid as a team. It happened in the last two games and we are going to try to adjust it. If it doesn't happen, we have another game to adjust it.
“We know what happened in the past. If we can control it, we're a more solid team.”