Guardiola feels his team 'ran too much' in victory over Mallorca (Samod Niobaku writes)

Guardiola feels his team 'ran too much' in victory over Mallorca
Despite his side's 5-0 demolition of Mallorca, Pep Guardiola was disappointed with the amount of effort his Barcelona team put into the game.

A Lionel Messi hat-trick followed by solitary strikes by Isaac Cuenca and Dani Alves gave the Catalan club all three points, yet Guardiola was hoping his team would conserve energy for their midweek Champions League encounter versus Viktoria Plzen.

"We run too much, we didn't want to have put so much effort in," the coach told Gol TV after the game.

However, he was keen to congratulate Isaac Cuenca on his first goal for the club, with the youngster netting on his first start at Camp Nou in La Liga.

He added: "Isaac played very well, he is a guy who is good at taking players on and passing. He scored his first goal in the stadium and has played very well so congratulations [to him]."

Guardiola was also full of praise for right-back Dani Alves, who grabbed the goal of the night with a long-range strike.

"Thank you to Dani for all his efforts. As a player, his reliablity is priceless. I have to thank him very much because he gives us the possibility of playing in many ways.

Victory against Viktoria Plzen could confirm the European champions' place in the Champions League round of 16, if AC Milan avoid defeat versus BATE Borisov in the group's other game.
Guardiola's career began in 2008.