Madrid (AFP)
New season, new team ... but same nightmare: two months after the 8-2 rout with Barça in the quarter-finals against Bayern Munich, Luis Suarez finds C1 and his German executioner on Wednesday (9:00 p.m.) under the colors of the 'Atlético Madrid.
After the humiliation experienced in Lisbon on August 14 against the future winner of the competition, the 33-year-old Uruguayan striker, transferred from FC Barcelona to Atlético Madrid at the end of September, will be keen to show himself against his former torturer.
Like his friend Lionel Messi, Suarez left the devastated Luz stadium last August.
After a long silence, the "gunslinger" reappeared in the press about a possible departure from Barça ... somewhat precipitated by the sinking of Lisbon.
In tears during his last training session, Suarez burst into tears again during his farewell ceremony at Barca.
But after a hectic summer, now Suarez shines again under the Madrid sky.
Since joining the Colchoneros, Suarez has played 216 minutes in four games, with three goals and one assist on the clock.
He participates in one goal every 54 minutes.
The fatigue of the two games played with his Uruguayan team, for whom he scored three times, does not seem to have affected his effectiveness.
- Without Diego Costa -
These figures place the neo-Madrilenian at the top of the list of great N.9 that Atlético has counted in its ranks.
Radamel Falcao (2011-2013), the other center-forward who stood out from his debut under the "rojiblanco" colors, only participated in one goal every 56 minutes in his first four matches (338 minutes), is a little worse than Suarez.
French international striker Antoine Griezmann (2014-2019) had taken weeks to adapt before finishing fifth top scorer in club history.
And Diego Forlan (2007-2011), the other legendary Uruguayan of Atlético who had landed from Villarreal with the Golden Boot title in his wallet, had only scored one goal in his first four matches. in La Liga.
These statistics should reinforce Luis Suarez in the idea of showing his true value against Bayern Munich for his return to the Champions League on Wednesday night in Bavaria ... despite the absence of Diego Costa.
- Exploit to be repeated -
After being associated for the first time with Suarez at the forefront of the attack, last weekend in the league, Atlético's other great center-forward injured his left thigh against Celta Vigo ( 2-0) and is expected to be out for about three weeks, according to the Spanish press.
The Uruguayan will have to do without his sidekick to wash away the affront inflicted by Bayern on August 14, a catastrophic evening in which he had yet been the only scorer on the Catalan side (with the goal against his camp of David Alaba), with a clever hook that had put Jérôme Boateng in the wind, followed by a nice goal from the left.
After having achieved the feat of taking out defending champion Liverpool last season, Atlético Madrid are capable of anything during their European campaigns and hope to repeat this performance on Wednesday.
"We are going to measure ourselves against the best team in the world, by its intensity, its pressure, its game ... Everything it shows. It is a very important game for us and we will try, with humility, to find solutions, "said coach Diego Simeone.
© 2020 AFP