Erling Haaland and Bernardo Silva struck for the 2-0 win in Spain on Tuesday night.
“If you analyse the first half and some moments in the second, we created some good chances,” he said.
“We made a good performance. I know the Spanish people know that Villarreal is a top, top team.
“I know how difficult it is to come here and I have the feeling things are coming back to what we were in the past.”
Guardiola also said: "We played really, really well. It's true that in the second half we had about 20 minutes where they were superior, but we could have scored earlier. The vibes are good, and the atmosphere is good. I'm happy. We scored the goals at the right time.
Now we have two home games coming up (in the Champions League), and we have to go out and get all the points. We're looking ahead to the rest of the competition, and we know that's the way forward, to keep picking up points."