City ran out 1-0 winners in the Joan Gamper Trophy thanks to Martin Petrov's first-half strike.

And Hughes, who spent an unsuccessful spell at the Nou Camp as a player, says the experience gained from playing against the European champions was priceless.

"One of the main reasons I agreed to the game was because I felt it was an experience we needed," he said.

"We are a young team, we are developing as a team and the opportunity to come to the European champions, compete with them, was vitally important.

"I wanted them to enjoy the experience and that's why I gave most players the opportunities; for the young players, the opportunity of playing at the Nou Camp was a great experience for us," he said.

Hughes was impressed with Barcelona's young side, but said City's Slovakian starlet Vladimir Weiss was better than any of the Catalan prodigies on show.

"Barcelona have great depth, great young talent, but I thought Vladimir Weiss was the best young player out there tonight," he said.

And Hughes was happy with his side's performance.

"We also had seven or eight senior players unavailable, so we were not at full strength, but it was an evenly matched game," he said.

"You always expect to concede possession against teams of the quality of Barcelona, but we were happy to do that and we did well," he said.

Meanwhile, Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola said he was not too disheartened by his side's defeat.

"The first priority was to win the game, but unfortunately we couldn't do that," he said.

"It was the chance to give some youngsters and different players that sometimes don't have the chance to play a run-out, so all in all quite happy and satisfied with the performance," he added.

And the Barcelona coach was impressed with City.

"City are a team with big stars and we knew it would be difficult.

"They scored a goal and almost scored another at the end, but we had our chances too and it was a good match," he added.

Guardiola handed a second half debut to summer signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic and although the Sweden striker looked ring-rusty following a spell on the sidelines, his new coach is confident the player will soon settle and rediscover his best form.

"Ibra needs some time to get to know the other players to be able to play as he did at Inter, but I was satisfied with his performance today," he said.

"He hasn't been fit enough until today and hasn't had enough time with his team-mates, but he has signed for five years so there will be plenty of time to see the best of Ibrahimovic.

"He has had a hand injury and had an operation, but he is moving well and little by little, with patience, he will become a great player for this club," he added.

Mark Hughes refused to answer questions over City's pursuit of Joleon Lescott after the match.

The England defender, who was yesterday dropped from the Everton squad due to a percieved poor attitude in recent weeks, remains a £20million target for City but Hughes was reticent about what his next move may be.

"Let's not discuss that, we've talked about that at length," said Hughes.

"He is an Everton player, there is no more to add. I would rather concentrate on the events of this evening."

Barca boss Guardiola was also less than forthcoming when asked to comment on the Catalan club's reported interest in Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic.

Asked if a move was imminent, he said only: "No, he is a Manchester United player."