Messi times for Suarez and Co
Uruguayan must step up against Spurs to relieve building pressure on coach Valverde
LUIS SUAREZ never had a problem scoring in England during his time at Liverpool.
Tonight he will be back on English soil hoping to break a Champions League scoring drought that goes back three years.
The Barcelona forward has not scored away from home in the competition since September 2015 when he netted against Roma. Just a few months before that, he had scored as Barcelona beat Juventus 3-1 in the Champions League final in Berlin.
Since then the Catalans have not won the competition and Suarez has not scored in the tournament. Ahead of Barcelona’s Group
B meeting with Tottenham at Wembley Suarez said: “(Lionel) Messi is the best in the world but we cannot depend on him coming on to provide a solution.”
He was speaking after Messi had been the super-sub in Barcelona’s draw with Athletic Bilbao.
Suarez knows if the team are to reach the final in June next year at Atletico Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in the Spanish capital, others have to step up. Messi came off the bench to help Barcelona avoid an embarrassing defeat on Saturday, after they fell behind to the 15th placed Bilbao, with the precocious striker being set-up by Munir El-Haddadi to find the equaliser.
Barcelona will need all their attacking fire-power against Tottenham at Wembley because clean sheets cannot be guaranteed at the moment. So far this season, Ernesto Valverde’s team have already conceded eight goals in La Liga alone. In contrast, the team reached the December halfway point last season having only let-in nine goals. To compound their woes tonight, the Catalans’ coach will also have to do without right-back Sergio Roberto, who is injured, and the suspended Samuel Umtiti.
The defensive frailties point towards Valverde opting for the extra muscle of Arturo Vidal in midfield and that will mean Philippe Coutinho will start up-front alongside Messi and Suarez. Despite being top of the league, pressure continues to grow on Valverde. His current contract only runs until the end of this season and the board are in no rush to bring forward negotiations to extend the deal. He, more than anyone, needs Suarez to find his scoring boots in London.
Things were very different the last time Suarez scored away in the Champions League.
Neymar was still at Barcelona and behind the formidable front three of the Brazilian, the Argentinian and the Uruguayan, Andres Iniesta was pulling the midfield strings. Before the goal he scored in the final against Juventus, Suarez struck important goals en route to the Berlin-hosted final. He netted twice in Paris as Barcelona saw off PSG and twice at the Etihad against Manchester City.
Since then, not only have Barcelona not returned to the pinnacle of European football, but bitter rivals Real Madrid have dominated the competition. Barca’s greatest opponents have lifted the last three European Cups, while Barcelona have fallen at the quarter-final stage each year. They have failed to win at difficult away grounds with Atletico Madrid, Juventus, and last season Roma, proving too much for them.
They have also only won one match in the Champions League away from home last season and that came from an own-goal from Suarez’ international and former Liverpool teammate Sebastian Coates against Portugal’s Sporting Lisbon. Suarez remains Messi’s best friend off the field. If he gets on the scoresheet at Wembley, he can lead the way on that call to not allow the No 10 to carry the team on his own.