SUAREZ HOPING FOR REPEAT PERFORMANCE AGAINST PSG
BARCELONA HOPE for more of the same from Luis Suarez at the Parc des Princes tonight when they face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last 16.
It was Suarez’s double at the quarter-final stage that helped Barcelona overcome PSG two seasons ago as Luis Enrique’s side marched on to the Berlin final.
The Uruguayan would go on to score in that final against Juventus, winning the Champions League in his first season at the club.
His form has not dipped since that first campaign and he was in the goals again on Saturday as Barcelona overcame Alaves to keep the pressure up on Real Madrid at the top of the table.
Suarez has now scored 18 league goals this season – no one has more in Spain.
He also has 25 in all competitions and his overall tally for Barcelona is 109.
That sum takes him level with his own manager Luis Enrique in the club’s goalscoring charts. Only nine players have scored more in Barcelona’s history.
For PSG it will be bad news if Suarez gets on the scoresheet tonight because the team never lose when he hits the back of the net – he has scored in 70 games and in those matches Barcelona have always managed to win or draw.
He has also found another gear since the turn of the year scoring 10 goals in 2017 after coming back from the winter-break spent in his native Uruguay.
His strikes both home and away were crucial to ensure Barcelona saw off Atletico Madrid to reach the Spanish Cup final last week.
Suspension means he will not play in that game so the only chance for him to play in a final this season will be in Cardiff on June 3 in the Champions League grand climax.
Suarez will be flanked by Leo Messi and Neymar tonight.
All three players were on the scoresheet when Barcelona won at the weekend and keep justifying their billing as Europe’s most impressive strikeforce.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique is not so blessed defensively.
Aleix Vidal will be out for the rest of the season after dislocating his ankle at the weekend and that leaves the team with only one right-back.
Sergio Roberto is playing his first full season in the position and has struggled at times this campaign.
He is now the only option and in the centre of defence Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano sat out Satur- day’s game because they were nursing knocks and Samuel Umtiti then hobbled off in the second half.
PSG will hope to expose those frailties in the first leg, safe in the knowledge that if they don’t, Suarez and company will take full advantage at the other end of the pitch.
Meanwhile, key midfielder Marco Verratti has made a well-timed return to the PSG line-up.
Verratti made his comeback from a calf injury in Friday’s 3-0 rout of Girondins de Bordeaux, showing his best in a 60-minute appearance with a splendid assist for Edinson Cavani.
“He is a very intelligent player. I watch how he plays with and without the ball. Benfica v Borussia Dortmund 9.45pm PSG v Barcelona 9.45pm Bayern Munich v Arsenal 9.45pm Real Madrid v Napoli 9.45pm
“He is really very, very strong. Playing with him is an absolute pleasure,” Julian Draxler, himself in impressive form since his January switch from Wolfsburg, said of the Italy international.
Uruguay striker Cavani is in the form of his life, having scored a double against Bordeaux to take his league season tally to 25 goals.
Only the suspended Thiago Motta and long-term injured Javier Pastore will be missing tonight.
Barca are also in good form after demolishing Alaves 6-0 in La Liga on Saturday but suffered the loss for five months of fullback Aleix Vidal, who sustained a nasty ankle injury.
The firepower of Suarez, Lionel Messi and Neymar ensure Luis Enrique’s side enter the tie as obvious favourites but PSG winger Angel Di Maria believes the game will be a good opportunity for his team to make amends for recent failures against the Spanish club.
“Obviously it’s talked about in the dressing room, but each year it’s different,” he said, referring to PSG’s elimination by Barca in 2013 and 2015.
“It’s a new era, with new players and it’s a new opportunity for everyone.”
The return leg will be played at the Camp Nou on March 8. – Reuters and DPA