Enzo Maresca has a simple explanation for Manchester City's defensive wobbles: four months is not long enough to know a squad, or for a squad to know him.
City's 3-2 win at RB Leipzig on Wednesday was a white-knuckle ride, the kind of European night that keeps supporters on edge. Erling Haaland's late winner settled a match City led three separate times, and the two extra points keep their European campaign ticking over.
But the pattern of surrendering leads, even in victory, points to a side still finding its shape under a new manager.
Learning on the job
Maresca, who took charge only four months ago, was candid about the process. "I'm new here, I need to know the players, they need to know me," he said.
It is a reasonable point. Four months is roughly a dozen Premier League games and a handful of European nights. Not nothing, but not long enough for a manager's principles to become instinctive.
The defensive errors that punctuated the Leipzig win are the kind that tend to diminish as familiarity grows. Whether they diminish quickly enough is another matter.
Forest test looms
City return to domestic action on Saturday evening with a trip to Nottingham Forest's City Ground. The Blues have lost their last two Premier League fixtures, away to Aston Villa and at home to Brighton & Hove Albion, a slip that has cost them top spot.
That is the context for Maresca's remarks. The European win was welcome, but the league form is the immediate concern.
Forest away is a test of character as much as tactics. City need to show that the Leipzig performance was a step forward, not another false dawn. The manager's honest assessment suggests he knows the gap between knowing and doing is where the work lies.
Four months in, the learning curve is steep. The next few weeks will reveal how quickly City can climb it.