Guardiola Congratulates Barcelona Players After Inter Victory

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola congratulated his players after they defeated Inter on a 2-0 score line in the UEFA Champions League to leave themselves top of Group F with one game remaining.

First half goals from Gerard Pique and Pedro secured a comfortable win for the champions and the Blaugrana's coach says they must finish the job against Dynamo Kiev in a fortnight.

"I congratulate my team on how they have performed. We have taken a very important step. Now we must finish it in Kiev. We depend only on ourselves," he remarked.

Guardiola also said that he did not play either of his star strikers, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Lionel Messi, because he ran the risk of having them injured for a long time and he said the squad has shown that there are enough players to cover their absences.

"It is clear that I feel safer with Ibra and Leo on the field, but there was a risk of losing both for a long time. I understand that people care, because they're two great players. But on this squad, all players offer enthusiasm and very different things," he noted.