Barcelona's Pep Guardiola: David Villa is indispensable to me
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has stressed that David Villa remains an indispensable player in his side in the aftermath of the Camp Nou club's 1-0 Copa del Rey win over Hospitalet on Wednesday evening.
The Spain international has been struggling to find his best form in the 2011-12 campaign, having scored three goals in 11 La Liga appearances so far. Nevertheless, Guardiola was impressed with Villa's display on Wednesday and insisted he still has absolute faith in the 29-year-old. "He [Villa] gives us a lot. For me, David is indispensable. I liked how he played tonight [Wednesday] even more than how he has in the past," Guardiola said at the post-match press conference. Guardiola then analysed the match itself and heaped praise on their Segunda Division B opponents. "I want to congratulate L'Hospitalet on the good team they are and for the level of ability they showed us tonight. They played a good game, they opened up and were willing to play. "They have a lot of heart, and their keeper was simply fantastic. We struggled a little bit in our attempts to break their defensive system down." The second leg of their Copa del Rey encounter takes place on December 21 at Camp Nou. [Goal.com]