Pep Guardiola ecstatic with win over Viktoria Plzen - Champions League News
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola claimed his team’s performance in the win over Viktoria Plzen in Champions League was an exhibition.
The Catalan team had to wait until the last minutes of the match to ensure victory; nevertheless, Guardiola was happy with their performance on the night.
The 40-year-old coach believed that his side “put on an exhibition” of their footballing philosophy in the 2-0 win at Camp Nou.
Andres Iniesta and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/David-Villa-c10629 scored for La Blaugrana, which saw them pick maximum points at Camp Nou. They are on level points with group leader AC Milan, falling to second place due to an inferior head-to-head record.
After the match, there were noises in the media that the score-line deceived to reflect action on the pitch, with the second line of attack after Lionel Messi falling on their face.
However, Guardiola came to the rescue of his team, stating that he was pleased with the performance, while also dismissing the suggestions.
“We put on an exhibition and played in a resounding manner,” Guardiola commented after the game, according to Uefa.com.
The former Spanish international pointed out that his team managed the victory, without talismanic attacker, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lionel-Messi-c22296 getting on the score-sheet.
Guardiola accepted that it was difficult to pierce the defence of Plzen, but they were successful in what they set to accomplish, maximum points.
“The news tonight is we have achieved it without Lionel Messi scoring. 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.”
Guardiola further praised his team for their apt defensive display, managing a clean sheet on the night. He appreciated their motivation going into the match, and hailed their concentration during the game.
The two-time Champions League winner rubbished claims that failing to win by a higher margin against the European minnows was a bad performance.
“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,” Guardiola commented.
As Barcelona managed to overcome the opposition without any major hiccup, AC Milan defeated Bate Borisov 2-0 at San Siro.
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