As Diego Simeone had predicted, it was Luis Suárez who rescued Atlético just as fate looked to inflict another cruel blow“We’re entering into The Suárez Zone,” Diego Simeone said. Atlético Madrid’s manager knew but even he couldn’t have known it would be quite like this, another story of the absurd in a season built on them. If this was The Suárez Zone, which it was, it was The Twilight Zone too, the implausible unfolding in front of them. With 147 seconds left on the penultimate Sunday there was another twist, delirium inside the Metropolitano where they had just witnessed the Uruguayan score the goal that changed everything, and outside where they hadn’t, but went wild anyway. How could they not?...
The Uruguayan, at 34, has been sensational for Atlético. Not bad for a free transfer who Barcelona were desperate to get rid of“Madness,” Lionel Messi called it, but even he hadn’t imagined it being this mad.One Friday in September Messi walked into the dressing room at Barcelona’s San Joan Despí training ground and it hit him. After six years his best friend wasn’t there, so he sent him a message. “It’ll be strange seeing you in another shirt,” it said, and two days on he discovered how strange when Luis Suárez made his Atlético Madrid debut. Introduced as a sub against Granada, 90 seconds later, Suárez had provided an assist. By the end of the 90 minutes, he had scored...
In a debut lasting less than 23 minutes, Atlético’s new signing won and lost a penalty, hit the post and scored two goalsThere was a smattering of applause from the 60 or 70 people sitting in the shade of the stand and then someone started shouting: “Uruguayo! Uruguayo!” Luis Suárez’s number had been up a while, forced to wait a couple more minutes for his Atlético Madrid debut, but now his time had come. He stood pitchside with Thomas Partey and Marcos Llorente watching Diego Costa walk his way. Briefly they embraced and then he set off towards the sunshine, greeting João Félix as he went. It was 5.31pm on the first day of Atlético’s season and their new signing...
The Champions League semi-final against Barcelona will pit two generations of Anfield attackers against each otherLiverpool will cost themselves some money should they reach the Champions League final at Barcelona’s expense – one of the add-ons to Philippe Coutinho’s transfer fee of £105m just over a year ago was an extra £4.5m should the Catalans win the event this season.Financial considerations apart, it should be quite the reunion when Jürgen Klopp’s side arrive at the Camp Nou on Wednesday. Liverpool were not only responsible for showcasing Coutinho’s talents in a manner that made him irresistible to Barcelona, they did exactly the same with Luis Suárez four years earlier, again making an impressive profit on a player they signed relatively cheaply....
In the last decade, Barcelona had beaten Real Madrid 5-0, 4-3, 3-2, 4-0, 3-1 and 6-2. Now they can add a 5-1 to that listSofi Balbi couldn’t be there the day her husband became only the second footballer to score a hat-trick in 70 clásicos going back a quarter of a century, but fortunately the neighbour was available to take the kids to the game for her. They wouldn’t have wanted to miss this for the world and, off work with a broken arm, he didn’t have anything better to do. Besides, he was taking his son anyway. So, Sofi stayed home with five-day-old Lautaro and watched on telly while Benja and Delfina had a day out with Lionel and...