MADRID, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- FC Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola remained in positive mood despite seeing his side lose its traditional pre-season Joan Gamper friendly tournament 1-0 at home to Manchester City.
A goal from Martin Petrov gave the English club a prestigious win against a Barcelona side filled with youngsters.
Barcelona dominated the second half and hit the post twice, but Guardiola's side was unable to beat Manchester City's excellent goalkeeper Shay Given.
From Barcelona's point of view, the game was significant for being the debut of record signing Zlatan Ibrahimovich, but despite the Swede's efforts in the second half, Barcelona failed to score in the match -- the first time it has every played in the Gamper without scoring.
"Ibrahimovich is going to get up to speed," explained Guardiola on the club website after the game.
"I have to give him minutes out on the pitch. He needs to have some continuity and we' ll see if he plays (in the Supercup) on Sunday. He needs to get to know his companions, but today I am pleased with the way he played," he added.
Guardiola also explained the high number of 10 substitutions that he made during the game, which kicked off at 22.15 hours on Wednesday night.
"I didn't want the players to play too many minutes because we have still to play Athletic in the Supercup on Sunday. Although my objective was always to try and win the trophy," he said.
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