With their perspective perhaps dulled by the extra-terrestrial brilliance of Lionel Messi, some Barcelona fans were starting to grow weary of Luis Suarez at the turn of the year.
The Uruguayan has a habit of taking some time to get going these days, and it wasn’t until late December that he finally scored back-to-back goals in La Liga last season.
But perhaps they should have reserved their judgement. A return of 31 goals in all competitions is still excellent by any standard, and the Blaugrana are unlikely to find a better centre-forward for their style of play, let alone one who connects as well with Messi.
Suarez’s performance in Russia last summer only reminded the world of his true quality, even if it did take until Uruguay’s third game to do so. Switching from the possession-based approach of his club side to the rugged counter-attacking of Oscar Tabarez, the striker showed how ruthless he can be when it matters in producing a pinpoint free-kick to break Russian hearts early on in their Group A decider.
In the last 16, he conjured the assist of the tournament with a stunning whipped cross to Edinson Cavani against Portugal. Suarez wasn’t marred by any of the controversy that marked his summer appearances in earlier years, making it a mature World Cup showing from the 31-year-old.
This season, injury to Messi gave Suarez a rare chance to shine as the focal point in Barcelona’s attack, and there were shades of his days as the main man at Liverpool on show.
Never more so than when Real Madrid came to town in late September. With his Argentine pal watching on from the stands, the Uruguayan grabbed El Clasico by the throat, running himself into the ground but also producing class in front of goal when it mattered. His excellent hat-trick effectively put Julen Lopetegui out of a job by the time the night was over.
Thibaut Courtois may be taller than Jordan Pickford but he got nowhere near the penalty thumped past him at the Camp Nou, so accurately was it placed. Nor was he close to the bullet header that gave Suarez his second (and surely a damaged neck). The third? A dink over the Belgian that would have made Barcelona’s No.10 proud.
It was a big performance on the biggest stage which served as a reminder that we were watching one of the great goalscorers of the current era.
FourFourTwo's 100 Best Football Players in the World 2018
