After defeat to Leicester two seasons ago, Guardiola revealed that he did not '
train tackles' - the inference being that his side are creators, less interested in the blue collar arts of defending.
Indeed, in the aftermath of a crushing 4-2 defeat to Leicester City last week, during which City failed to make a single tackle in the opening 35 minutes, Guardiola, perhaps knowingly, incited critics of his ultra-purist formula yet further by insisting that he is "not a coach for tackles so I don't
train tackles."