Suarez scored four times and contributed three assists, saying his team were “more united than ever” as they bounced back from a bad run with Wednesday’s 8-0 La Liga win at Deportivo La Coruna.
Advertisement
Victory also came at a cost for Atletico as inspirational defender Diego Godin limped off with a hamstring injury that is likely to see him miss at least the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich. Real stayed one point behind their title rivals after beating Villarreal 3-0 and are expected to be without top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo for their visit to struggling neighbours Rayo Vallecano.
“I think he’s been good all season, just as well as last season, when he was incredible”.
But it didn’t take long for the Catalan club to start turning things around.
Although the majority of attention on Enrique’s side inevitably focuses on the ups and downs of the forward line of Messi, Suarez and Neymar, the Barca coach was keen to pinpoint the influence of skipper Andres Iniesta.
The goal took Suarez level with Ronaldo on 31 strikes for the season, and he edged the Portuguese 11 minutes later by slamming a penalty into the top corner after substitute Roberto Canella handled in the area.
Suarez has 49 goals this season – the same as Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy combined – but has some way to go to beat Messi’s record of 73 set in 2011-12. There are four games remaining. Both men are consummate professionals and will do what’s best for their team – but spare a thought for them both during the match, as it’s not going to be easy for either of them.
Luis Suarez led Barca’s stunning return to form with four goals and three assists on Wednesday following a run of three straight La Liga defeats for the first time in 13 years. Karim Benzema opened the scoring at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in the 41st, Lucas Vazquez added a second in the 69th and Luka Modric rounded off in the 76th.
The coach said that star striker Lionel Messi will play without any problems, despite having ankle issues in the last game. “The second half we had more pace in our play, which obliged the opposition to do more, and helped us make chances”.
Messi and Neymar scored the other two goals of the win, making this the second game the famous MSN (Messi, Suarez, Neymar) machine has scored.
Advertisement
However, they silenced many critics who said that Barcelona were slipping with a convincing 8-0 victory over Deportivo which kept them on top of the table thanks to their superior goal difference.
