Guardiola praises Barca performance
Posted Thursday, October 20, 2011 by ESPN
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has praised his side's performance in their 2-0 Champions League win over Viktoria Plzeň on Wednesday.
A heavy scoreline was expected at the Nou Camp between the holders and the Czech champions.
Despite a one-sided match, the Catalan giants could only manage two goals - Andres Iniesta and David Villa scored at either end of a game.
But Guardiola was delighted with the performance and result.
"We put on an exhibition and played in a resounding manner. The news tonight is we have achieved it without Lionel Messi scoring," he was quoted as saying in UEFA.com.
"We know that the most difficult thing [against a defensive team] is to score but that is all part of the process; we had a lot of opportunities and sometimes we were assertive while at other times we weren't.
"In general I thought we played well. The fact that we didn't concede means that the whole team was involved. I congratulate my players for taking the game with the seriousness it deserved.
"I do not like the feeling that exists that suggests because we did not win by a bigger score we have not had a good game. My players played a great game. Fortunately, David Villa's goal finished the encounter."
The win puts Barcelona second-place in Group H, level on seven points with AC Milan.
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