22 October,2010 08:41 AM IST | | PA Sport
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola praised Javier Mascherano after the Argentina midfielder started and finished on the winning side for the first time since joining the Catalan club from Liverpool in the summer.
Mascherano came on as a late substitute for the injured Xavi as Barca beat Valencia 2-1 at the Nou Camp on Saturday night, but the Argentina captain had failed to win any of the games he had started prior to Wednesday night's 2-0 victory at home to Copenhagen in the Champions League. The 26-year-old made his debut in Barca's shock 2-0 Primera Division defeat at home to promoted side Hercules last month, while his other two starts came in the recent draws against Rubin Kazan and Mallorca.
Guardiola was happy with his most recent signing.
"I'm very satisfied with him. He played well and he is happy. He is a competitive player with a lot of quality," he said.
