Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini wants his reigning Premier League champions to improve their defensive game.
The Etihad Stadium outfit travel to Aston Villa on Sunday and Pellegrini has asked his side to get better at the back after keeping just one clean sheet (on opening day against Newcastle United) in six league outings so far this campaign.
"Yes, I think that we must improve," he said. "It's very important to have a clean sheet.
"That is because when you are playing, if you are always conceding one goal before you score, you are playing against the time, against the rival, against the score, against a lot of things.
"One of the things that we did last year was improve on our clean sheets. We had a lot of clean sheets in the second half of the season, but at this moment last year we conceded more goals.
"But, of course, we cannot concede five goals in three [Premier League] games. We scored seven and drew two games and won one, but it's too much."
