Luis Suarez hurt by ‘unjust’ defeat on home debut for Barcelona
Luis Suarez remains without a victory in a Barcelona shirt as the Catalans suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Celta Vigo on his home debut on Saturday.
Barca had been unbeaten in the league until the Uruguayan’s bow away to Real Madrid last weekend, but consecutive defeats have seen them slip to third in La Liga behind Real and Atletico Madrid.
Luis Enrique’s star-studded frontline of Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi were left frustrated as the hosts struck the woodwork four times and were denied by Celta ‘keeper Sergio Alvarez numerous times as Joaquin Larrivey’s second-half strike sealed the Galicians first away victory over Barca since 1941.
“The other day against Real Madrid to return to playing was a bittersweet feeling, it was great to be back but we didn’t get the result,” Suarez told Barca TV.
“To make my debut in the Camp Nou in a competitive game was nice but the result is negative again.
“We created a lot of chances, but we didn’t have luck on our side. They defended well and their goalkeeper was great.
“ Football can be unjust at times, the opponent creates one chance in the whole game and scores and that hurts.” - Luis Suarez
On top of his 70-minute run out at the Bernabeu, Suarez had also played 45 minutes in the Catalan Super Cup against Espanyol in midweek to gain match fitness.
And he insisted he felt no ill effects from having completed the 90 minutes in a competitive game for the first time in four months following his ban for biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup.
“I felt much better today than the other days. You always have to be 100 percent ready to compete. In the Bernabeu I felt good in the first moments of the game, but in the second I felt a bit tired after not playing for so long.
“The 45 minutes against Espanyol helped to gain rhythm and today having played the whole game I feel much better.”
Barca’s first chance to bounce back from a disappointing week comes at a ground Suarez knows well as Enrique’s men travel to face his old club Ajax in Amsterdam on Wednesday.
“The match against Ajax is the most important at the moment,” added Suarez, who scored 111 goals during a four-year spell with the Dutch champions.
“It is clear that it is a club that gave me everything. I learned a lot and I will always be thankful for that. To return and play in the Champions League with Barcelona will be great.”
Enrique also lamented his side’s lack of efficiency in front of goal and is braced for the criticism that will come the way of him and his players in the coming days.
“We had 19 shots and hit the woodwork four times. There were errors, but the attitude the team showed will reinforce us going forward.
“We deserved to win, but this sport rewards effectiveness and that is what we weren’t.
“Now we will have a week where it will be open season (to criticise) but our responsibility is to prepare for the game against Ajax.” - AFP
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