Barca got 6 points and Rakitic and Umtiti back

There are weeks that improve the team greatly. Nobody believed Barcelona could win the treble under Luis Enrique, but a catastrophic defeat at Real Sociedad made the team untouchable. 

Barca have been through similar situations since then. There have also been weeks in which a player went from not playing to appear regularly in the side. 

This past week, Barca have won two important matches, one in La Liga and the other in the Champions League. They also saw two players who have hardly played under Valverde return. 

Samuel Umtiti started both games and recurring injuries have kept him out of the side more than anything else. The central defender was fantastic at Butarque despite his error in the 1-0 goal and he performed excellently in the Champions League victory over Dortmund. 

If injuries do not hamper him, he could fight again for a place in the eleven which he seems to have lost to Lenglet. Pique also have to keep performing after the French duo performed brilliantly in the Champions League. 

It also seems like Valverde is playing Ivan Rakitic more often now. After being overlooked at the beginning of the season, he put in a good performance against Leganes before starting against Dortmund. 

Apart from the initial error, the Croatian was once again very solid in midfield. Rakitic is gaining importance and he gives Barca more options. Something they need after their recent inconsistency.