Barcelona boss Luis Enrique has lavished praise on Ivan Rakitic ahead of the Catalan outfit's Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich.

Rakitic, who joined Barca from Sevilla last summer, lost his place in the team at the start of 2015, but has been an ever-present over the last couple of months.

"Rakitic has become a key player for us. He is an intelligent player, and is physically strong. We are very happy with him as we are with all the players we signed this season," Enrique told UEFA.com.

Rakitic is once again the starting XI for Barcelona's trip to Bayern in their Champions League semi-final on Wednesday. As it stands, the Spanish side lead 3-0 from the first leg last week.