Barcelona: Always the man for the big occasion, Luis Suarez was Barcelona’s match-winner once more as the European champions took firm control of the La Liga title race by defeating closest rivals Atletico Madrid 2-1.
Barca were far from their best on Saturday, outplayed for the first half hour, they fell behind early on.
Yet, even Atletico’s rock solid defence was powerless to stop a two-goal burst in eight minutes just before half-time from Lionel Messi and Suarez.
Victory moves Luis Enrique’s men three points clear of Atletico —having also played a game less — and seven ahead of third-placed Real Madrid.
Suarez’s winning goal was strikingly reminiscent of his strike that beat Real Madrid 2-1 at the height of last season’s battle for the Liga title.
Using his body strength to hold off Jose Maria Gimenez, he controlled a long ball from Dani Alves before firing into the corner with his second touch.
Since his controversial signing for Barca after biting an opponent for the third time in his career at the World Cup 18 months ago — which led to a four-month ban — Suarez has consistently been the man to turn the big games in the Blaugrana’s favour.
He scored the decisive second goal in the Champions League final as Juventus were downed 1-3 and twice more against Real Madrid in a 0-4 humiliation of Los Blancos earlier this season.
Moreover, his presence has completely changed the trajectory of the Barca-Atletico rivalry.
The season before his arrival, Atletico went six games unbeaten against the Catalans, knocking them out of the Champions League and winning the Liga title in a final day showdown at the Camp Nou.
Since then, Saturday’s win takes Barca’s winning streak against Los Rojiblancos to six, including returning the favour by winning the title at the Vicente Calderon last season.
“He is such an important player, he makes the difference. Without doubt his arrival has given Barcelona more penetration than they already had,” said Atletico boss Diego Simeone.
Partly due to his previous indiscretions, Suarez has had to watch his strike partners Messi and Neymar be paraded whilst he was sidelined during the recent individual awards season.
