Clearly happy with the three points from what he claimed is never an easy place to come to, Guardiola reckoned that his team’s slow start: “has to serve as a lesson for other games”.

Another story after the break

The boss explained: “we found it harder than ever to get going tonight and that has to serve as a lesson for other games. Obviously the goal helped us. It was another story altogether after the break though, we played with more intensity and suffered less”.

First of three big challenges

Guardiola was happy with the points: “in the first of three big games we have this week… we are on a good run, remember that Mallorca have taken a lot of points here”.

Injuries

The team showed in Mallorca that the squad has enough quality to cover for any absences and Guardiola commented: “these things always happen during a season, we knew that the injured guys wouldn’t be here- we prepared the match and the players responded well. If we lose, it won’t be down to the players who are missing. The titles we have won have been won by everybody and I have a lot of faith in my players”.

Keita

Guardiola made special mention of Keita’s contribution: “he is one of the most dependable players a manager could have. Without doubt, it was him who held us together in the first half”. Looking to the future, Guardiola concluded: “we have to get over the knocks we’ve picked up and prepare for the tough game we face in Mestalla”.