Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has lavished the praise on Barcelona striker Luis Suarez ahead of the meeting between the two teams at the Camp Nou this weekend.
The striker was signed by the Catalan club in the summer for around £ 75 million. Much was expected of the Uruguayan who missed much of the early parts of the campaign due to a long-term suspension from Fifa. Upon his return, Suarez has not been able to find the back of the net on a consistent basis like he used to for Liverpool. The 27-year-old has managed just two goals in 10 appearances for Barcelona in the league.
Despite this, Simeone says that he feels that Barcelona do play better when they have Suarez in the team.
This is largely because of the incredible six assists that Suarez has had to his tally since returning back to action in October. The striker scored one of his league goals in the 5-0 victory over Elche last week. This helped Barcelona stay in touch with Real Madrid, who continue to build a sizeable advantage in the la Liga. This week, however, they will be taking on reigning champions Atletico Madrid who managed to get a win on their way to the title last season.
“They are a really competitive team. For me, there isn’t one player at Barcelona who you would let have the ball, because they can all play really well. Even the goalkeeper can play.Claudio Bravo has been quality, Suarez gives them something different to what they previously had and Rakitic is an important option along with Xavi and Andres Iniesta in the middle.Suarez’s characteristics are different to the forwards they used to play. When it’s Pedro, the team play more diagonals. Suarez is a complete player. He’s a player I like a lot for his intensity and his voracity,” said Simeone.