#4 Rakitic on the rise
Ivan Rakitic had hit an all-time nadir in his Barcelona career in the final few weeks of 2016 when a grossly poor vein of form lead him to being dropped from 5 of the last 8 matches. The Croat, however, redeemed himself a little with a strike against Hercules in the last round and was thereby given another chance by Enrique to impress.
And Rakitic did impress.
The former Sevilla man was one of the few players from his side to pull his weight in this abject showings, and also tried to help at the back. Rakitic weighed in defensively when his midfield exploits proved insufficient and gave a glimpse of his versatility. His defensive nous may give him the edge over other challengers for his role such as Andre Gomes, Arda Turan and Rafinha.
Although Barca continue to fumble, Rakitic continues his ascent to form.
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