"Things can always be done better"

Vanessa Forns

Pep Guardiola was cautious before praising his players for their domineering victory over Getafe on Sunday evening as he explained that there was always room for improvement despite the 1-3 scoreline.

The FC Barcelona coach admitted that the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez was never an easy place to win at, but was keen to stress that things could have been even better for his team. "We had a great first half," he said. "But coming here is never simple. It is a good sign that we put the game away like we did. It may have appeared to have been comfortable, but was not."

Different match
Lionel Messi, David Villa and Pedro all scored before Gerard Piqué was sent off. "In the first half we played well," Guardiola continued. "After the sending off we saw another game. When we did not play well Getafe showed their strength and they have a lot. I am generally happy because it is always difficult to come here and win."

Getafe quality
Playing with ten was not easy for Barça, but Guardiola did think his team could have won by more. "It is always difficult to play with ten against teams who are able to play when they have the ball like Getafe I do," he stated. "Getafe are strong like that. But we also had the chances to extend out lead, I felt."

Many games
"The confidence that I have in my players is unlimited," the trainer said. "The team always responds well and have faith and humility. I am pleased with how the team is and how we are playing. Maybe we do not yet have the necessary stability to last the entire 90 minutes. I am very pleased with things though, but there are still a lot of games and a long way to go."

Piqué card
Reflecting on Piqué's dismissal Guardiola added: "This is football and these things happen in a season. We accept them as part of it all and do not complain much, although sometimes it may appear that we complain a lot. I wish that they do not happen, but these are things that happen."