Suarez on the offensive
THE charm offensive, for a player not exactly known for his charm, was impressive enough from Luis Suarez.
But if he thought a few well-chosen words, about the passion of the Liverpool support and his own commitment to them when here, were enough to redeem him in their eyes, then he was quickly put straight.
And viciously too. There was no ceremony, no warmth at all towards him, the boos that rang around this old stadium even before kick-off as his name was announced told him that he has trespassed too far.
Some would say, this reporter amongst them, that boundary should have been drawn a decade ago after the ugly racism directed against Patrice Evra.
Suarez is, of course, a pantomime villain, almost inspiring himself with the venom of the crowd. But here at Anfield, he seemed mildly hurt by the reaction of the fans. His every touch was booed. When he threw himself to the ground after the merest of touches from home keeper Alisson, there was a mixture of outrage and hilarity after the referee waved away his screams for justice.
Justice of a sort was delivered here, though, far too late and with a touch of the comic rather than the blanket rejection his antics deserve.
The fans hated the lack of class he showed when playing for Barcelona in the semi-final. Liverpool fans will forgive much, but not that.
When his goal was disallowed for offside, the jeers were the loudest of the night, and when he trudged off minutes later, that almost arthritic run was greeted with more booing. Perhaps the biggest irony of the night was that Suarez looked Atletico’s calmest player on a night when the Spanish side collectively lost their heads.