An early Jordi Alba own goal gave the hosts a gritty 1-0 victory in their first game back after the winter break and Luis Enrique was subsequently criticised for resting Messi, Neymar and Dani Alves, who had all been given extended breaks in South America.
"I expected Neymar and Messi to maybe be on the bench," the coach told reporters at the Anoeta. "I've managed a very big club, you have a big squad and a lot of games.
"The big games come later for these teams - April time - and you have to give the big players rest to keep them fresh for then.
"We've talked about Barcelona at my past clubs, at Everton and at Manchester United. I've watched them with admiration and we used to wonder how to possibly get a result against them.
"Tonight I had the opportunity; it was a long night, we scored early and I would like to have given them a harder game. We did make it very difficult for them, though.
"I would like to be competing against Barca, Real Madrid, Atletico, Valencia and Sevilla at the top of the league. To do that we have to make the squad stronger."
Moyes also stressed how much useful a result a 1-0 win can prove in the early stages of a coaching role, though he accepted that la Real's creativity needs working on over the course of 2014-15.
"It was a great result for the team," he added. "It was a very important result. And a very hard game, but a great result and I'm really happy with how they did tonight.
"I am delighted with how the team defended today. The team have been fantastic. Against such a good team they defended brilliantly well.
"It was a really strong defensive performance. In my early days as a coach [at a new club], the best way to win is 1-0. It gets you started. Then you start to build. You'll start to get a better team.
"If we can play the games and concede no goals, we'll always have a great chance of winning. We've not always been able to go and win. We've not always taken the opportunities.
"We've defended quite well in all of the games, with the exception of Villarreal. But we need to be more creative, we need to pass the ball better, we need to create more chances against the other teams.
"But against teams like Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, we'll have to defend very well because they all have outstanding players."
Real Sociedad are back in action with a trip to Villarreal - who defeated them 4-0 earlier this season under Moyes' reign - in the Copa del Rey last 16 on Wednesday.
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