Guardiola was well aware of the value of Saturday night’s win over Zaragoza, particularly given the hectic schedule his team have been enduring, insisting: “it wasn’t easy to play such a serious game so soon after Wednesday’s Champions League game”.
The win at La Romareda, the team’s fourth away victory on the run and a record start to the
season, pleased the boss and especially after the efforts of Wednesday night when the team beat
Copenhagen in the Champions League, leaving precious little time to prepare for the trip to
Zaragoza.
Squad in good shape
“Overall, we had control of the game and created plenty of
chances. It wasn’t easy to play such a serious game so soon after Wednesday’s Champions
League game, but the squad is looking in good shape and if we can stay like this, we’ll get
to where we have to in even better condition”.
Three man defence
Guardiola also expressed his satisfaction with his three man defence: “the
truth is that it’s never easy to play when you aren’t really used to a new tactic, but
the truth is that the players knew how to respond and I’m very happy with how they
played”.
“Messi is a goal scorer”
Once again Messi was the star of the show and Guardiola insisted:
“he is basically a goal scorer. It’s not something new, he has always been. He’s
not a typical number 9, but he’s always after goals – that’s why he’s
scored so many in so few years. He was comfortable tonight and we created plenty of chances, coming
through the middle and down the flanks”.
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“Villa is happy”
Once again David Villa was out of luck in front of goal, hitting the woodwork for the umpteenth
time so far this season, but Guardiola values him for everything he brings to the team, not just
his goals: “we came here to win the game, I can’t judge him just by the goals he
scores. He did a lot – everything he had to. He had chances and they’ll go in
eventually, it’s just a matter of time. He’s still happy”.