Pep Guardiola admitted it was not easy for his Manchester City side to pierce a defensive Stoke City tonight.

Mark Hughes' Potters held strong at the Etihad Stadium to force a 0-0 draw with City who had scored 12 goals in three matches prior.

"They defended deep and it was complicated to find the players between the lines," said Guardiola.

"We were there in the last minutes. I don't have regrets about how they ran, how they fought.

"It's not easy when the opponents are there. We created a lot of situations for the last pass and sometimes we missed it.

"When Silva came in, we created a few more chances. When you analyse the chances we had, I don't really remember more than one Stoke chance."

The result saw City remain third on the Premier League table behind Tottenham Hotspur on goal difference and 10 points in arrears of league leaders Chelsea.