Guardiola hails Barça professionalism

Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola hailed his side's professionalism after they demolished Hospitalet 9-0 in the Copa del Rey last night. Holding just a 1-0 advantage from the first leg, the European champions romped through the return against the Segunda Division B opposition. Pedro kicked off the scoring with a 12th-minute penalty before goals from Andres Iniesta (19), Thiago Alcantara (23), Xavi (36) and Cristian Tello (43) made it 5-0 at the interval. Isaac Cuenca scored twice in the second half, Tello also notched a second and Thiago converted a 55th-minute penalty. Given the victory came just four days after Barça retained the FIFA Club World Cup with victory over Santos in Japan, Guardiola was delighted with how the players had returned so quickly to domestic matters. He told reporters: "The way my players behaved shows why we are so admired and why we have been the best team in the world this year. If we have won admirers it is because of displays like this." Guardiola said Barça had prepared for the game like any other, despite their lower division opponents. "We studied videos like we would normally do. The players can't think that we don't do our job and then demand that they do theirs." Guardiola reserved special praise for 20-year-old Cuenca, who is the latest young talent starting to make his mark on the first-team squad. "He's been impeccable all year," he said. "We hope that with humility, the behaviour of being seen and talking little, that he will be ready and as a player, be at the required level." However they were dealt some bad news, announcing today that Andres Iniesta will be missing for the next two weeks with a muscle injury he picked up in the victory.