Ivan Rakitić

[Hamzah]

I've been critical of him but he actually did play well first half, tired in second half. Vidal should have come on for him and Arthur stayed on the pitch

 

[Havesaks]

Goat

 

[Zidane82]

I've been critical of him but he actually did play well first half, tired in second half. Vidal should have come on for him and Arthur stayed on the pitch

How did he play well though ?
What did he do ?
I saw him have very few touches , mostly back passes and even two them were misplaced. Two poor shots on goal , one poor headed attempt over the goal . There was one nice chest down to someone in a nice counter attack but that’s it .. I just saw him trotting around with the call being played around him .,

 

[Morten]

Isco could be another Fabregas/Coutinho in making, he doesn't have the mental strength, nor the fighting spirit. Even Real Madrid fans say the same.

I could be wrong, but he is not a sure shot like many think, he may very well struggle here as well. Add to that, the amount of money and effort it will take to get him here. I'd only get him if we could get him for cheap.

Isco would suit you so well, he is perfect for that slow(boring) possession game of yours, and he could play 1-2 with Messi.
Which is why, if we sell him, we have to put in an anti-Barca clause just to make sure.

 

[Havesaks]

we don't need more turtles in this team, and we certainly don't need an OM. Im starting to hate players with those profile, both fabragas and coutinho were OM (and failed). We already have messi for that role. Isco needs to stay the fuck away from this team. I wouldn't even want him here for free, because there isn't anything he would add to the team at all. Rabiot tho - he could add some running any physic, and is a real CM/DM.

 

[BusiTheKing]

It's not about having a good game or not at this point. When it's not convenient for him, he's not going to help out his teammates. That's it. Last night, it was not convenient for him. He made zero attempt to help bring the ball out from the back and zero attempt to make himself available every time Arthur was being roaming around fending off pressure.

My assessment of him has always been that when he has time and space, his intelligence can shine through and he can make the cute little touches or nice long passes, but when the game is on, he's as good as playing with 10 men. He probably looks great in training when the intensity is lower than in games, which is why coaches rate him so much.

 

[EdmondDantes]

Not his best match last night by Rakitic, after his 3 or 4 'good game' streak. He looked well tired, even in the first half.


I wish he could use the international break to rest. He's probably the one who needs it the most in the squad since Pique, Messi & Suarez hadn't been playing international football until now.

 

[DonAndres]

Dude had a measly 45 passes playing the full 90 minutes in midfield and created no chances at all. Coutinho had the same amount of passes playing as a winger for 70 minutes, Busi had significantly more passes (61) and Arthur even more than that (73).

He was absolutely invisible last night, in a game where almost everyone was excelling offensively he was the weak link. The game just goes right by him most of the time. Continues his streak of playing absolutely horrendously in every single KO game in the Champions League for years now. I wish I could say he was even just OK or below average in these games, but it's almost exclusively awful every time. Even Suarez showed up and delivered when needed.

 

[Arizona Scott]

Not as well as some recent performances but he did fine. Part of a midfield that controlled the majority of 180minutes the two teams played.

Did his job fine, high % passing and contributes an extra layer of defensive cover with clearences and defensive awareness.

Bottom line is he is better than current alternatives, be best to give him rest the last 1/4 of the game but subs were needed elsewhere so he and busi have to soldier on the full match.

 

[Zidane82]

Not as well as some recent performances but he did fine. Part of a midfield that controlled the majority of 180minutes the two teams played.

Did his job fine, high % passing and contributes an extra layer of defensive cover with clearences and defensive awareness.

Bottom line is he is better than current alternatives, be best to give him rest the last 1/4 of the game but subs were needed elsewhere so he and busi have to soldier on the full match.

They only played two in midfield and the game seemed to pass Rakitic by tbh . I didn’t see any positives aside from that neat chest~down mid counter attack

 

[PhilS]

Not at his best yesterday, but no, he did not suck. He never hurts the team, even on his worst days, uses all his experience very well.

 

[BusiTheKing]

The reason why he doesn't look outright terrible or like he is actively hurting our game is because he only ever wants the ball in situations he can handle. When there are players around him, he just doesn't help out. Therefore, he doesn't get the ball and therefore he doesn't really lose the ball.

Why do you think Arthur has 30 more passes while playing 20 minutes less? Because he works for the team and not to look.

 

[Total-Football]

battle of the slow motion workhorses...pogba vs rakitic

 

[tacticvarium]

After years of shit, boring football from Barça, fans now have a low standard for what is a good performance from midfielders.

 

[Givenchy]

battle of the slow motion workhorses...pogba vs rakitic

...atleast Raki has shown up in the big games though