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.
