Suarez steps from shadows of Messi & Neymar in Barca's biggest test yet
COMMENT: The Uruguay striker scored both goals in his best performance
yet as Luis Enrique's side made light of a potentially problematic trip
to Manchester City
Manchester City may not have lived up to the hype in this match, but
Luis Suarez did. Back in the country where he emerged as one of the
game's great forwards, the Uruguayan didn't disappoint. Two goals, a
point proved, nay-sayers silenced - it was a satisfactory night's work
for the 28-year-old. Barca flop? Not likely on Tuesday's showing.
It was as if Suarez sensed the opportunity to make a statement. Seven goals and 12 assists in his first 22 games for Barcelona may have been a respectable return, but there had been many missed chances and there was still the feeling he had not quite clicked.
All of that changed in Manchester. During his time at Anfield, Suarez relished facing Premier League defences, while his finest performance at the World Cup came with a two-goal show against England.
Perhaps he thrives upon the space afforded to him, the necessity for speed, or the need to rely on reaction and not thought. Suarez knows where the goal is and twice he found it in typically clinical style to become the first Barca player to score two goals in the first 30 minutes of a Champions League match.
"It's always special to play these matches because of all the years I spent at Liverpool," Suarez said after his double at the Etihad.
And it could have been more. Barca were well on top in a match that had been billed as wide open. City, it was said, had learned from the experience of last season's 4-1 aggregate defeat. They would be better. But they weren't.
Manuel Pellegrini's decision to play with two strikers seemed to give Barca too much room but in truth the home side lacked muscle in midfield in the absence of the suspended Yaya Toure.
Barca, beaten by Malaga so surprisingly at Camp Nou on Saturday, were eager to make amends in this match, as both Gerard Pique and coach Luis Enrique had said in Monday's pre-match press conference.
For the Catalans, it was the chance to prove a point. Ditto for Suarez, who has now netted nine goals in 23 games for the Blaugrana, while setting up 12 more. That's almost a goal a game he has been involved in and, as Luis Enrique keeps saying, he will only get better and better.
So even though Sergio Aguero pulled a goal back for City in the second half, Tuesday's match in Manchester was all about Suarez.
"Suarez has always been confident, whether he is scoring or not," Luis Enrique said afterwards. "He is a top-level player and that is why we signed him."
But the striker himself was not content with his two goals.
"In the second leg we have to show what Barca are all about at Camp Nou," he said.
This tie may not be over after the Catalans' 2-1 win, but Suarez stepped out of the significant shadows of Lionel Messi (who saw a late penalty saved by Joe Hart) and Neymar to produce the kind of performance Barca paid all that money for in the summer.
Suarez signed for Barca last July for €81m but was of course banned for four months after biting Giorgio Chiellini in the World Cup. Some seven months on, he has finally arrived as Barca passed their biggest test yet in 2014-15.
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| Andymega Entertainment |
Manchester City may not have lived up to the hype in this match, but
Luis Suarez did. Back in the country where he emerged as one of the
game's great forwards, the Uruguayan didn't disappoint. Two goals, a
point proved, nay-sayers silenced - it was a satisfactory night's work
for the 28-year-old. Barca flop? Not likely on Tuesday's showing.It was as if Suarez sensed the opportunity to make a statement. Seven goals and 12 assists in his first 22 games for Barcelona may have been a respectable return, but there had been many missed chances and there was still the feeling he had not quite clicked.
All of that changed in Manchester. During his time at Anfield, Suarez relished facing Premier League defences, while his finest performance at the World Cup came with a two-goal show against England.
Perhaps he thrives upon the space afforded to him, the necessity for speed, or the need to rely on reaction and not thought. Suarez knows where the goal is and twice he found it in typically clinical style to become the first Barca player to score two goals in the first 30 minutes of a Champions League match.
"It's always special to play these matches because of all the years I spent at Liverpool," Suarez said after his double at the Etihad.
And it could have been more. Barca were well on top in a match that had been billed as wide open. City, it was said, had learned from the experience of last season's 4-1 aggregate defeat. They would be better. But they weren't.
Manuel Pellegrini's decision to play with two strikers seemed to give Barca too much room but in truth the home side lacked muscle in midfield in the absence of the suspended Yaya Toure.
Barca, beaten by Malaga so surprisingly at Camp Nou on Saturday, were eager to make amends in this match, as both Gerard Pique and coach Luis Enrique had said in Monday's pre-match press conference.
For the Catalans, it was the chance to prove a point. Ditto for Suarez, who has now netted nine goals in 23 games for the Blaugrana, while setting up 12 more. That's almost a goal a game he has been involved in and, as Luis Enrique keeps saying, he will only get better and better.
So even though Sergio Aguero pulled a goal back for City in the second half, Tuesday's match in Manchester was all about Suarez.
"Suarez has always been confident, whether he is scoring or not," Luis Enrique said afterwards. "He is a top-level player and that is why we signed him."
But the striker himself was not content with his two goals.
"In the second leg we have to show what Barca are all about at Camp Nou," he said.
This tie may not be over after the Catalans' 2-1 win, but Suarez stepped out of the significant shadows of Lionel Messi (who saw a late penalty saved by Joe Hart) and Neymar to produce the kind of performance Barca paid all that money for in the summer.
Suarez signed for Barca last July for €81m but was of course banned for four months after biting Giorgio Chiellini in the World Cup. Some seven months on, he has finally arrived as Barca passed their biggest test yet in 2014-15.
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