Would Barça have won with Puyol?

An important decision before the kick-off against Rubin Kazan was the choice of putting Gerard Pique and Rafa Marquez in the heart of the defence and leave Carles Puyol on the bench.
Under Pep Guardiola, Puyol has stopped being the ever-present stalwart of the team that he has been in the past. A lot of this has been a result of the emergence of Pique who can offer the strength of Puyol coupled with the fine ball control and the ability to build play from the back.
A key element to the way Guardiola perceives the game is that he looks for technical quality from all areas of the pitch and that seems to be the reason why he prefers to play Marquez ahead of Puyol – for his ability to launch attacks with his short and long range passing.
The downside though was only too clear against Rubin as there is no substitute for the character and commitment of Puyol who drives the team forward relentlessly. Against the Russian’s counter-attacking, his pace and battling was sorely missed