Rakitic the difference if MSN misfire at Barcelona

Rakitic the difference if MSN misfire at Barcelona

Barcelona are one victory closer to the Spanish title. But for once it wasn’t their front three that had defined the occasion. Instead, it was the Croatian Ivan Rakitic who played the key role in the 2-0 win against Real Betis.

Rakitic the difference if MSN misfire at Barcelona

The strike took Rakitic’s tally to nine for this season. That makes him Barcelona’s highest scorer in 2015-16 behind Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Neymar. Improving upon his return from the last season, which stopped at eight. Yet more than those landmarks, the goal on Saturday was so crucial for the midfielder because of the opponent it came against.

He may be Croatian by birth, but Rakitic is a Sevillista at heart. So defeating Betis will have sent him back to Catalonia in a special good mood. The No.4 was still only aged 22 when he arrived in Sevilla back in January 2011. He spent three-and-a-half seasons at the city’s eponymous club. That was before joining Barca in 2014. In truth he has never fully left the Andalucian capital till date, maintaining a home there as well as a solid family connection through his wife.

Rakitic is nothing less than a Sevilla legend himself. The club’s first foreign captain since the great Diego Maradona, he was a formidable figure in winning their first European trophy in seven years. He also helped in winning their first trophy, when he led them to the Europa League title in 2014.

The ninth strike will have been gleefully cheered just as much in the bars of the Nervion district of Sevilla as it was evident in Barcelona. Increasingly this season, it seems that when MSN misfire, Rakitic is the answer.