Luis Suarez Proves Critics Wrong as Barcelona Edge Man City in Champions League

Luis Suarez is an expensive flop. Luis Suarez doesn't score enough goals. Luis Suarez should go back to a second-rate team like Liverpool.

This is the fuel.

And the two goals he scored on Tuesday night, as Barcelona saw off Manchester City by two goals to one at the Etihad Stadium?

The first strike, lashed with the left boot, beyond Joe Hart and into the far corner at blistering pace.

The second, a precise, clinical touch with his right boot at full stretch, to flick the ball out of the goalkeeper's reach and into the net.

They are the fire.

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

We've seen in the past that Suarez thrives when he's out for revenge. When he scored those two goals against England in the world cup, also past Hart, he was playing with a desire to bite back at his critics.

It was a fury stoked by comments he believed to be made by the English press that were against him, saying, per the Mirror's John Cross: "Before the game, too many people in England laughed about my attitude over the last few years."

And yet again Suarez fired metaphorical shots at his critics, real ones at Hart, leaving the goalkeeper with no chance and plenty of open mouths choking on humble pie.

Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

There have been a lot of news stories published about the Uruguayan since he signed for Barcelona.

Most of late have concerned his lack of goals, how he seemed to be the odd one out in the forward line.

It would be quicker to list the articles that are positive about Suarez, rather than the ones that chastise him.

There was Pete Jenson, writing in the Independent: "No one doubts the goals will start to flow. His acrobatic scissors-kick volley against Levante two weeks ago was one of Barcelona’s goals of the season so far. But he looks more like topping the assists chart—he has clocked-up 12 so far in his 22 games."

There was Graham Hunter of ESPN FC, too, who wrote a considered piece on how Suarez's presence in the front line wasn't just about adding goals to Barcelona's tally.

Even more crucially, his team-mates are delighted to play with him too. It's clear to anyone who watches Barcelona for more than a game or two, how Suarez's running is precisely what Lionel Messi and Neymar need to thrive on either side of him.

Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

Sergio Busquets was asked, in an interview with the Guardian's Sid Lowe, if Suarez is the Busquets of the forward line.

The defensive midfielder replied: "Well, there’s something in that, I suppose. I’m sure Luis is happy. Outside voices might say 'Suarez has to score more', but I don’t care about that if he works like he is, defensively and offensively, his movement is good, he creates spaces and the team scores."

So Suarez was getting plaudits in some places. But the general feel was that the man returning to England, after the move he dreamed of, was not as lethal, not as sharp as he used to be.

And of course, those words were the catalyst for the Suarez performance we got on Tuesday night.

Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

Barcelona, now, are close to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Sure, the brilliantly taken Sergio Aguero strike and Messi's late penalty miss could have put the game totally beyond City's reach. But the job for Manuel Pellegrini's men is not an easy one at the Camp Nou.

Gael Clichy is suspended after his indiscretions in this game, but Yaya Toure's return will mean that Luis Enrique's team cannot slack.

That may, actually, be better in the long run for Barcelona, because the weekend after that match is the Clasico.

Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

Preparing for that game by being switched on, rather than playing out a dead rubber, is probably for the best.

Suarez, incidentally, made his Barcelona debut against Real Madrid in the 3-1 defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu earlier this season.

That match was a humbling for a Blaugrana side that had not previously lost in the season. It took the focus off Suarez, and onto how ineffective, and even hapless, Barcelona were at that stage.

Suarez probably won't have liked that much. He might be out for revenge. And we know what happens next.