Luis Suarez propels Barcelona to Copa del Rey final

Two goals by Luis Suarez lead Barcelona over Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey semi-final.

Luis Suarez has found his shooting boots as he scored twice against Real Madrid and Barcelona as Barcelona booked their spot in the Copa del Rey final for the fifth consecutive year.

With all eyes on Lionel Messi following his hat-trick against Sevilla, it was the much maligned Luis Suarez who proved the difference in a game that Barcelona did not deserve to win. Real Madrid were by far the better team in the first half limiting Barcelona to zero shots on target while the merengeues had a plethora of chances either wasted by Vinicius Jr. or saved by Ter Stegen. The 3-0 scoreline fails to tell the story of the game.

Aside from the score, a positive that Barcelona should take out of this game is that it appears Luis Suarez had found his form again and it could not have come at a better time. Coming into the match, the Uruguayan had broken his goal-scoring drought in their league game against Sevilla scoring a stoppage time goal. Prior to that, his form was so atrocious that he was becoming a problem for the team and questions arose whether he should be in the starting line-up.

But he answered his critics against Real Madrid as he was involved in all three goals. The finish in the first goal off a pass from Ousmane Dembele was a tough finish and Suarez made it look routine. The second goal was an own goal from Varane but the cross was intended for the Uruguayan. He earned the penalty and delivered an audacious Panenka to seal the tie and put the current title-holders through.

In many ways, it was a vintage Luis Suarez performance that we had not seen in quite some time. Considering Barcelona did not have their best day and had Real Madrid finished their chances, we’d be talking of a thrashing by Madrid. There was one worrisome moment after the third goal where cameras caught Suarez asking to be subbed off. He managed to stay on the pitch for a few more minutes before being replaced by Arturo Vidal.

Regardless, Barcelona came out with a win and it was due in large part to Suarez showing flashes of his old self. Gone were the sloppy passes, heavy touches, and the shows of frustration when things weren’t going his way. With another clasico on the way and the return leg against Lyon in the Champions League, Barcelona need this Luis Suarez to show up and take some of the burden off Lionel Messi.