First-team coach David Platt has defended Manchester City’s approach to games this season.
City have been accused of being too negative on a number of occasions, and they were most recently criticised following the 2-0 defeat to Chelsea before the international break.
But Platt claims the big-spending Eastlands outfit are not too negative, insisting it is vital that the team defend well during matches.
The former England international told the Manchester Evening News: “Chelsea came to our place and we beat them.
“We had just come out of a great many games when we played them away.
“We went to Arsenal and they didn't really trouble us after 20 minutes once we had swapped the formation around a little bit.
“When the opposition has the ball you have to defend and that is what we have done all season.
“What we haven't been able to do, both at Arsenal and Chelsea, was get a foothold in the game offensively other than those early periods in each half at Chelsea.
“People can level these things at you but when the opposition has the ball you have to defend.”