It's been quite a while since we've seen Luis Suarez in action on a football pitch, with his last meaningful involvement coming with the last touch of the ball--with which he scored the winner equalizer against Chelsea at Anfield--back in April. Four league matches and a sea change of sentiment have occurred since that time, with the most recent development a firm stance and steep valuation by the club that the striker reportedly wants away from. That's for another day (or maybe later today, depending on post-match interviews), though, as this is mostly meant to serve as a reminder that he does, in fact, remain half-decent at this whole football thing.
Replacing Diego Forlan at the half, Suarez was lively as ever in attack, spurning one chance after a couple minutes and getting what would prove to be the winner in the 50th. The ball from Maxi Pereira was good enough, but the maneuvering of Suarez to get his body in front of Eliaquim Mangala was superb, matched only by the strike that would follow, in which the striker nestled it into the far corner with the outside of his right foot.
The rest of the half didn't produce any goals but involved a typically industrious Suarez performance and capped off a full ninety minutes(!) for Sebastian Coates. For the latter it's nice to see some actual match time, and for the former it served as a brief reminder of just what he adds that's so beneficial--tireless working, smart movement across the forward lines, and, as we've seen so often, a moment of skill and class that's world-class.
Video by LionelMessi (probably not that one)