Ranking Barcelona's Top 5 Players for April
April saw Barcelona plunge to their lowest depths of the season but also stagger back to their feet, fists swinging wildly, like a boxer who needs to see out the remaining rounds.
They lost their unbeaten streak of 39 games at the start of the month, capitulating against Real Madrid at home, before Atletico Madrid knocked them out of the UEFA Champions League and losing three Primera Division games in a row for the first time since 2003.
Then came the reaction, with 16 goals scored and none conceded in the three following league games. Here are their results in April:
Barcelona 1-2 Real Madrid (La Liga)
Barcelona 2-1 Atletico Madrid (UCL)
Real Sociedad 1-0 Barcelona (La Liga)
Atletico Madrid 2-0 Barcelona (UCL)
Barcelona 1-2 Valencia (La Liga)
Deportivo 0-8 Barcelona (La Liga)
Barcelona 6-0 Sporting Gijon (La Liga)
Real Betis 0-2 Barcelona (La Liga)
Eight games, four defeats, four wins and no draws. Who were their five best players over this period?
5. Ivan Rakitic
1 of 5
Croatian midfielder Ivan Rakitic is clearly one of Luis Enrique's favourite players. He's featured in more games (105) than any other member of the squad since the Asturian took over in 2014.
That is because he offers something in midfield that nobody else can: attacking drive and defensive work rate.
Like most of the team, he played badly against Atletico Madrid in the second leg of Barca's Champions League quarter-final.
Beyond that, though, April was a solid month for him, which is more than you can say for many of his team-mates.
He opened the can against Real Betis, a habit for him. Nine of Rakitic's 17 goals in a Barcelona shirt have been deadlock-breakers.
Rakitic also scored and set up a goal against Deportivo, as well as assisting Gerard Pique for his goal in the Clasico.
4. Gerard Pique
2 of 5
The month started in the best possible way for Gerard Pique, scoring against rivals Real Madrid.
It soon got worse, though, as Los Blancos turned the game around and Barcelona's season hit the rocks.
But Pique was a constant positive for the club in April while the likes of Jordi Alba, Neymar, Sergio Busquets and Dani Alves floundered.
He was suspended for the 8-0 rout of Deportivo but played 90 minutes in the rest of the matches.
Overall, he was one of the least responsible figures for the club's bad spell.
3. Javier Mascherano
3 of 5
When the chips are down, there's nobody better than Javier Mascherano to have on your side.
He's not the most talented player at the club, not even close, but he is the player with the biggest heart.
Mascherano's performances have been consistent in April, even as the team as a whole fluctuated wildly.
He was excellent against Real Betis on Saturday, blocking an early Ruben Castro strike by throwing his head in the way. It epitomised how he will do everything he can for his team-mates.
He was one of the best players against Valencia in a game in which most of his team-mates let him down.
Sport gave him a seven in their player ratings, with no player scoring more. The paper wrote:
"They call him Jefecito [the little boss] for a reason. [He] was full of drive, energy and leadership, although that alone was never going to be enough to get Barça back into the game once going 2-0 down. Covered almost every blade of grass in his own half in the second 45 minutes, regularly appearing to break up Valencia counter-attacks.
"
Mascherano played every single minute of Barcelona's eight clashes in April.
2. Luis Suarez
4 of 5
Luis Suarez scored 11 goals in seven matches in April. At any other club, he would be a shoo-in for the month's best player.
Four goals came against Deportivo La Coruna and four against Sporting Gijon.
He netted both of Barcelona's goals at home against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, as well as scoring the second in their win over Real Betis.
However, the Betis game was not a good match for Suarez. He wasted two huge chances before he found the net, and on another day, that could have cost Barcelona.
Lethal in front of goal, his overall performance level in games such as the Clasico and against Valencia was low. That's why he's not No 1.
1. Lionel Messi
5 of 5
Well that, and the fact Suarez plays alongside the world's best player.
April 2016 will not be a month Lionel Messi recalls fondly, but he was his club's best player.
Even though he didn't score against Real Betis, he set up both goals and carved out plenty of other opportunities for his team-mates.
Messi runs things in this town. Suarez took the plaudits against Deportivo and Sporting, but Messi was the artist, stringing the moves together that Suarez finished.
With five assists and three goals in his last four games, Messi hauled Barcelona up by their bootstraps and put them in place to retain their Liga title.
He started off in what was deemed a goal drought, but broke it when he scored against Valencia, his 500th career goal for club and country.
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