18.12.2010 22:47

Guardiola: “a great night”

Anna Segura

Pep Guardiola called this “a great night” after his players had put on a fantastic performance to finish off city neighbours Espanyol and praised their preparation and the way they accepted victory.

For the boss, “this was a great night for us. The players have even surprised me with the way they prepared for this game and the manner in which they took the win”.

Important win

Espanyol were previously unbeaten at home and have been one of La Liga’s form teams, which Guardiola fully acknowledged: “we knew we were up against a super team. They are up where they are for a reason and so to win here and win as we did means I just have to congratulate the team. It’s been the most important away game we’ve faced and we got through it with flying colours”.

Pep continued: “this win will give us a lot of security in the future. It’s a big step and it will strengthen us. Playing with such personality will set us up for the rest of the season”.

“We kept our nerve”

Guardiola explained: “we had to keep our nerve – if we’d got frightened and not played our game, we wouldn’t have done it. It’s hard to win here and we did it not just with our talent, but also because of the solidarity the players showed”.

Pedro and Iniesta

Pedro Rodríguez and Andrés Iniesta were two of the main figures in the game, the former for his goals and the latter for the reception he received from the Espanyol crowd. Guardiola stressed the way Pedro and the other forwards pressured the Espanyol defence: “if the front men join in, we can pressure really well”, whilst insisting: “we’ll try and ensure that Iniesta is a reflection of this club. I’d also like to thank Espanyol for the way they treated him”.