Pep's big defence to critics of Blues

PEP Guardiola has achieved unprecedented success with City but to some critics he is just a chequebook manager.

- SIMON BAJKOWSKI

Anyone could do what the Catalan has done with the amount of money he has spent, goes the improbable argument as trophy after trophy stacks up at the Etihad.

The sneering has centred on defence, where more than £535m has been spent on the backline to transform the team that was inherited in 2016.

Nobody would deny that it is an eye-watering amount of money and nobody has, with Guardiola happy to accept the heavy lifting that spending has done. A look at the Euros goes to show just how well City have recruited in defence though.

It has been a tournament to forget for many forwards, with Harry Kane, Cristiano Ronaldo and Romelu Lukaku among the leading stars struggling to make an impact. At the quarter-final stage, none of the biggest names have made their mark in Germany.