Barcelona 3-0 Manchester United: 5 Men who won the game for Barcelona

#2 Ivan Rakitic

FC Barcelona v Manchester United - UEFA Champions League Quarter Final: Second Leg

The Croatian was vital for Barcelona on the night and perhaps covered every blade of grass on the Camp Nou in a bid to help his team progress into the Semifinals. Rakitic was a stellar presence in the midfield and provided the fire that kept Barcelona ticking. The Croatian was as effective going forward as he was doing the dirty work and his overall performance helped his team win the game.

Rakitic started the night in the back foot, like his team, but was instrumental in helping Barcelona get back into the game. He took charge of the proceedings and most importantly, took responsibility. Rakitic realized that United were gaining in stature in the game and doubled his efforts to take charge of the midfield. He even won a penalty for Barcelona, but it was correctly ruled out by VAR.

The Croatian helped Barcelona withstand United’s fiery start to the game and was vital in stopping them carving out clear cut chances on the night.

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Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over seven years at Sportskeeda. He has written more than 9000 articles for the website, and has garnered over 20 million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

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Edited by Sujith M