Press criticism affecting Barca players, says Xavi

First worrying and then unconvincing, Barcelona were trailing Alaves after just 18 seconds, but Robert Lewandowski's brace in Sunday's 2-1 win on matchday 13 in La Liga prevented them from plunging into crisis.
After the match, the 'Cules' coach Xavi Hernandez gave his impressions. He acknowledged the shortcomings of his team, who still need to "improve".
"We've improved a little, but we still need to improve. We took the lead in a very difficult match. We showed a lot of courage. It's a very important win," he said, before explaining why his team had been putting in a string of poor performances.
"The press is very exaggerated. It's more the press criticism that affects the players and that's why we're not playing very well.
The win takes Barcelona to within two points of Real Madrid and four behind neighbours Girona, who are still top of the table.