3) Inability to get the best out of Ivan Rakitic
When Ivan Rakitic arrived at the club, he had a wonderful first season and was instrumental in the treble-winning campaign. Xavi was benched to give way to a more direct approach and Rakitic thrived in midfield as possession football gave way to transition football.
That season saw Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar form the three-pronged attack that plundered 122 goals and 66 assists. However, Messi's role has evolved slightly over the years and he now moves into a central role to effect play.
What it did was to minimise the right midfielder’s role – effectively robbing Rakitic of space to make a difference in the game. The Croatian was quite literally on Messi’s heels and was forced to cover for him by going wide when Messi drifted inside to work with Suarez.
As a result, Rakitic became a peripheral figure. How many times have we seen the playmaker’s abilities wasted because he was forced to play out wide? Rakitic’s heat maps from 2014/15 to 2016/17 also show how his position has shifted. And he was clearly struggling in a few games following his Achilles tendon injury.
