Barcelona Right to Rest Midfielder Ivan Rakitic vs. Elche with Tough Tests Ahead

Ivan Rakitic has become a key piece of Luis Enrique's Barcelona side, and it's for that reason that the Croatian shouldn't play this weekend.

The Asturian coach obviously thought the same thing and didn't include him in the match-day squad to take on Elche on Saturday night.

That might seem counter-intuitive, dropping an in-form star and possibly disrupting the team's momentum.

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But the realities of fighting to win trophies on three fronts, in La Liga, in the Copa del Rey and in the Champions League, mean that you need to rest players now and then.

As explained recently on Bleacher Report, it seems that Enrique is getting to understand his squad better and how to handle his players.

It was, in fact, after a Copa del Rey victory over Elche that it became clear that Enrique was starting to understand the Barcelona universe better, from a manager's point of view. I wrote:

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Was this so hard? Luis Enrique picked the right team to face Elche, and Barcelona won at a canter. On top of that, he gave the reserve players in his squad some fitness and confidence, handed debuts to two talented youngsters and rested his entire first team for Sunday's match.

Compare this to the fiasco in San Sebastian a couple of weeks ago. It seemed like he was resting Neymar and Lionel Messi for the subsequent Copa del Rey game by allowing them extra Christmas holiday and then benching them against Real Sociedad.

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And resting Rakitic for the clash with Elche this weekend, who Barcelona saw off twice in recent weeks in the cup, is the right move.

On Wednesday they take on Atletico Madrid again in the Copa del Rey. Rakitic has been instrumental in the last two victories over Diego Simeone's side and will have a huge part to play in the third battle at the Vicente Calderon.

Playing against the Rojiblancos is always a physical challenge, and with Simeone's side 1-0 down from the first leg, Enrique and his men can expect a series of heavy challenges to fly in from the off.

Not only has Enrique realised that he needs to manage his squad in a less abrasive fashion, he also has started to appreciate that Rakitic needs to be a key part of it.

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Enrique finally has pinned down his first team; the Lionel Messi, Neymar, Luis Suarez attack, Rakitic, Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta in midfield, Jordi Alba and Dani Alves flanking Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano at the back.

The likes of Xavi, Jeremy Mathieu, Pedro and Marc Bartra will play the odd game now and again, but they will need to fight tooth and nail to get a regular spot in the team, barring injury.

Rakitic adds the verve to Barcelona's midfield that they were hoping for when they signed him from Sevilla last summer.

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With Enrique stopping Alves behaving like a winger, while still allowing him to support the attack, Rakitic has come into his own and has stopped needing to cover for the full-back's runs.

Iniesta is performing better in a slightly deeper role and Barcelona are finally ticking. The knives will come out if they don't beat Elche on Saturday, but leaving Rakitic out ahead of the real challenges is the right move.