It`s never easy attacking against 10 defenders: Guardiola

Barcelona: Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola wants his players to remain competitive and disciplined throughout the season and take all opponents seriously.

Guardiola’s comments follow the defending Spanish and European champions’ comprehensive 5-0 away victory over Belarusian club BATE Borisov in a Champions League Group H fixture on Wednesday evening. It was Barca’s second successive 5-0 win following their triumph against Atletico Madrid at Camp Nou in the Primera Division at the weekend. However, Guardiola insists that his players need to be careful in every game and show respect and retain their competitive streak. "[I hope] they don`t lose the competitive spirit they showed on Wednesday, and that has characterised this team for so long... this spirit I`ve been seeing for years,” said the Catalan, according to PA. "It`s embedded. I`m very clear that they feel it. It doesn`t matter if we win or lose, but we always have to keep doing the same things." Reflecting on their win in Minsk, Guardiola stated: "The truth is that they [BATE] defended really deeply, and I didn`t expect that.” “Sometimes if you don`t score early on it makes you lose a little patience. But we were able to cope really well, and this gave us the time and space to develop our game.” "It`s never easy attacking against 10 defenders. All these teams are pretty similar. They set out to defend and hope you lose a little patience.” “It was very important to control the midfield players, and [Mateja] Kezman, and our players did that very well." Barcelona, who are second in the league on 11 points from five matches, are away at Sporting Gijon on Sunday evening in La Liga. Goal.com