Monday 9th November 2009
Guardiola: Best yet to come
Barcelona's 4-2 win over Mallorca had Pep Guardiola looking pleased though unconvinced that his team had hit its peak.
Speaking to Marca after the match, the Barca boss said: "We are playing well. Last season, no-one gave us a chance, so everything we did was a surprise. This year there are no surprises. There is room for improvement"
The victory not only ensured that Barca remained in pole position, but, also displayed the Blaugrana's strength in depth as Guardiola decided to leave Daniel Alves, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi on the bench.
He defended the changes explaining: "I wanted fresh players, because the trip to Kazan was long and tiring. We are a full squad, not just twelve or thirteen players."
The tinkering seemed to have not affected team's display though starting a little leggy; they quickly dissected their opponents to go ahead 3-1 in the first half. Pedro was quick to hit a brace and the much maligned Thierry Henry also got his name on the scoreboard.
Guardiola had kind words for his recently much maligned striker and Barca's dynamic youngster.
"Henry always helps to score goals, while Pedro has a gift for being able to play on the wing and scoring so many goals," he said.
To further emphasize his manager's point, the ever-humble Pedro was quoted by the club's website as saying: "I'm very happy with my goals and for the win. I want to thank my team-mates and especially [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic who gave me a great pass for the first goal."
Join us on Facebook