Midfielder Gareth Barry accepts Manchester City may have to curb some of their attacking instincts to succeed against Europe's elite teams.
Roberto Mancini's side have scored at will on the domestic front - rattling up 15 goals in four Premier League matches - but found that form difficult to replicate on their Champions League debut as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Napoli.
The Italian side produced an almost textbook European performance, soaking up a massive amount of pressure before hitting their hosts with a counter-attacking sucker punch from Edison Cavani with 20 minutes to go.
Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure and Edin Dzeko had all gone close, but it was left to defender Aleksandar Kolarov to secure a point with an inch-perfect free-kick.
The Serbia international's fourth goal of his City career spared Barry's blushes after he was caught in possession 10 yards outside Napoli's penalty area and could only watched as Christian Maggio raced downfield to set up Cavani to score.
And the England international admits the squad have plenty of catching up to do after 43 years outside Europe's top competition.
"There are a lot of things we have learned. It was a different style of game to what we are used to in the Premier League," the 30-year-old said.
"We have started the Premier League very well but this is a different style of game, it just doesn't happen like that.
"The first few games we have maybe been a lot more open than we were last season but it is the team the manager sends out.
"There are a lot of attacking players out there and now and again you can get picked off on the break.
"We got exactly the sort of game we expected; they defended very well and we knew about their counter-attacking style.
"When they got a chance they broke in numbers and very quickly. We'll look back at the video but there are things we can learn.
"On another day we could have put three or four past them and it would have been a different game.
"But we have to be wary of attacking in numbers as we do at home and we are going to have to adapt from the way we play in the Premier League because it is a completely different game."
Mancini said he felt his side were nervous on their Champions League debut, despite six players having experienced it with other clubs.
Barry felt the weight of expectation after a devastating start to the domestic campaign had played its part, and believes the result may bring a reality check to those who thought City would cut a swathe through Group A against Napoli, Villarreal and European heavyweights Bayern Munich.
"I can imagine the fans and a lot of people were expecting us to go out there and roll over Napoli but it was never going to be like that," Barry said after his first appearance in the competition.
"The Champions League adds a lot of pressure, it is completely on a different level to the Europa League.
"We have probably made that step up - as a squad we have the players who deserve to be playing there - and both teams have a great chance to qualify from the group.
"We were disappointed not to get three points with the chances we created in the first half.
"The first goal is always vital and if we had got that the game would have opened up and suited us more, but it is not always going to happen like that.
"But I enjoyed it. It was a great atmosphere and it was one of the reasons I joined the club. As a team we learned a lot."
