Xavi: 'We showed character and desire'

FC Barcelona have beaten Real Sociedad 2-0 to move back above Girona, who dropped two points two days earlier. It wasn't an easy victory against a side aspiring to a place in the Europa League, and  Xavi was naturally delighted with what he saw. "I'm happy because we generally played very well" he said afterwards. "The team showed character and desire and I'm pleased with the way they reacted."

"We were very aggressive with our deep pressure, we won balls back, and we were excellent in defence. We struggled when Becker got to the ball behind us because he's so fast. But we generally competed well against a Champions League quality side." "Real Sociedad and Imanol Alguacil always make it hard for us. They're a fantastic team and always make life hard for us. I think they're a top class team."

Lamine Yamal, difference-maker

"Lamine Yamal makes such a difference because he's a great player for the present and future. He still needs to improve his decision-making, but he's still very young. He's a very good player."

"Ronald Araujo and Vitor Roque both had minor fitness issues and that's why they didn't play. As for Raphinha, he had a great game and personally I like him a lot. Regarding Lewandowski, we have three games this week with more to come on Thursday and Sunday. But it was also tactical change, we needed some fresh legs. But Lewandowski had a very, very good game today."