Rakitic explains Ter Stegen celebration

Ivan Rakitic has revealed that his celebration with Marc-Andre ter Stegen during Barcelona’s 3-1 victory over Granada was inspired by a pre-match pact.

The midfielder ran straight up to the German near the visiting dugout and embraced him after he opened La Blaugrana’s account in Andalucia for his first away goal in La Liga since September.

“I went up to [Marc-Andre] ter Stegen because I get along great with him,” he said after the game.

“For the last three weeks, he’d been saying that I’d score.

“[My celebration] shows we’re united as a team. During times like these, we must all stick together.

“We played with a normal rhythm. It’s always hard to play [at Granada].

“It’s also a little unfortunate that the grass wasn’t good, but we still did a great job and worked very well.

“We know how to play. If we can help in defence, we will but [Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar] all await the right moment to exploit the space.”

Tags Ivan Rakitic Marc-Andre Ter Stegen
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