There were a number of occasions last season when Pep Guardiola insisted that Manchester City were not that great when it came to playing on the transition.
His words tended to come before and after matches against the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Southampton, all sides who thrive on quickly turning defence into attack. Pep said City didn't have the players to match that, so his solution was simple: keep the ball, slow the game down and don't give the opposition chance to counter.
Fast-forward to Sunday and City were ripped apart by Newcastle's counter-attacks. While City did regain their composure after half-time to fight back from 1-3 down to secure a point, in the first half the hosts looked like scoring with every attack.
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After the game Guardiola acknowledged that Newcastle manager Eddie Howe got his tactics spot on and that attackers Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almiron attacked City in the way that hurts them most, staying high up the field and breaking when City's defence aren't set or properly positioned to cope.
The boss also argued that City could have combatted the hosts' brave approach better by keeping hold of the ball better in the final third, by making more passes instead of always looking to play the killer ball as quickly as possible.
A key element of his footballing philosophy is building attacks in the right way. If you attack patiently and methodically then you'll have players in the right positions to react should possession be lost. If you take the ball forward at 100mph then it will come back at you at 100mph.
Pep's analysis begs the question of why didn't he think of that before or even during the game? There are many factors at play, but the crux of the answer is this: the opportunities presented to the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden and Erling Haaland by the way Newcastle wanted to play the game were just too good to turn down.
The hosts pressed City high up the pitch to great effect, but any time City managed to play out of the press there were acres of space to exploit behind their defensive line. With De Bruyne's vision, Foden's trickery and Haaland's immense pace, power and finishing, were City really going to just keep the ball rather than going in for the kill?
Arguably they should have done, but then we wouldn't have been treated to the thrilling game that will go down as one of the Premier League's greatest. It would almost seem a waste for De Bruyne not to make lung-busting runs forward, or for Haaland not to muscle off multiple challengers as he accelerates away from the last defenders. If you buy a Ferrari then you're going to want to rev the engine a bit - even if you are just driving to the shops.
Of course, City will not always play like that. They didn't on the opening day against West Ham, largely because the hosts defended deeper and didn't leave space in behind until they were chasing the game. City had to be patient in their build-up, like they were in 90% of games last season.
But when the opportunity presents itself to move up the gears and be more spontaneous than methodical, perhaps it's time Guardiola and City fans embraced the chaos. It's incredibly exciting, after all.
The risk comes - as it did on Sunday - when the opposition leave two quick attackers up top. Both of City's full-backs were tucked up into midfield, meaning that Ruben Dias and John Stones were often left in one-on-one situations when Newcastle broke forward.
When that combines with defenders having off days and attackers like Saint-Maximin putting in career-best performances, things can get messy. It's clear that this season City will play differently to last, but the key for Guardiola is deciding when to go with which approach.
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