Luis Suarez has spoken of his relief at finally making his competitive debut for Barcelona, although it was far from the perfect start for him.
Suarez is now able to be considered for selection by the Camp Nou giants, after completing the four-month suspension he received for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini during the World Cup Finals. And the forward, who joined from Liverpool in a reported £75million deal in July, was thrown straight in at the deep end for his new club against Real Madrid on Saturday evening.
The Uruguay international was named in Luis Enrique’s starting eleven as Barca travelled to the capital to contest the first El Clasico of the season, but it was a disappointing match for La Liga leaders. Despite taking an early lead through Neymar, goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, Pepe and Karim Benzema gave Los Blancos a 3-1 win and Suarez a bittersweet debut for his new club.
“I’m very happy to be able to return and play,” AS quote Suarez as saying. “It’s a big relief and I’m happy to have had the time I did. The feeling is bittersweet with the result but this team has reached a high level many times. Playing here is difficult but we came to do what we could. Everyone knows how the Clasico goes – the first minutes are difficult but football has these things. We had to go forward and on the counter, they’re very good, and they killed the game.”
For his part, Suarez looked good before making way for Pedro on 69 minutes. He will expect to be given another start when the league campaign resumes next weekend, when he will make his home debut against Celta Vigo. By this time Barca, who were unbeaten prior to their visit to the Bernabeu, could be second in the table as Real, just a point behind, travel to Granada earlier in the day.
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