Barcelona coach Xavi admits they were hit hard by injury for victory over Real Sociedad.

Barca won 1-0 on Thursday night, but suffered injuries to Gerard Pique, Ronald Araujo and Jordi Alba.

Xavi revealed: "Jordi, Ronald, Pique... we're suffering a lot, there is a lot of fatigue and the schedule is really demanding.

"I try to press for 90 minutes, but we are suffering, it's a reality.

"It's because of a change in the model of our game, this hasn't been done for a long time. Physically it is showing, but the effort of our players is spectacular."