Manchester City academy chief Andy Welsh says their NextGen campaign has been a learning experience for all involved.

Welsh admits that the Barcelona standard is the one all clubs are aspiring to.

"They're two brilliant games we've had against Barcelona and Marseille because I think they're two of the benchmarks of Europe in terms of Academies," he said.

"Barcelona were technically excellent and they have got some terrific players coming through. We weren't a million miles behind in all honesty although I felt they were technically better than us."