Suarez spares Barcelona blushes with late winner vs. Leverkusen
Perhaps the absence of Lionel Messi inspired more adventure from Bayer Leverkusen. Messi is a singular force capable of separating teams from their established principles in self-preservation. His absence, however, freed Leverkusen to do what they do best without a second thought.
Leverkusen closed, chased and pressed Barcelona into some unrecognizable for the opening hour, but Barcelona eventually responded in the late stages to secure a 2-1 victory at the Camp Nou. Already facing two months without Messi after he tore a left-knee ligament Saturday, Barcelona also lost Andres Iniesta to injury in the second half.
''We are the European champions and we knew that in the second half we had to show it,'' Suarez said after Barca's 2-1 victory put the defending UEFA Champions League sid atop Group E on Tuesday night. ''It was important to win, above all playing at home.''
Hakan Calhanoglu matched his considerable reputation with a flat, menacing delivery for Kyriakos Papadopoulos to glance home at the near post to give Leverkusen the lead after 22 minutes. Barcelona improved after the interval and summoned a response through Sergi Roberto. Suarez reaped the benefits of Munir El Haddadi’s determined run to thump home the winner nine minutes from the end.
This fixture always loomed as a difficult one for Barcelona, but the injury sustained by Messi complicated matters and urged Leverkusen to push forward earnestly. Bellarabi conjured a chance for Hernández inside the opening two minutes to signal Leverkusen’s intent and underscore the expansive nature of the first half.
Leverkusen pushed high up the field and applied constant pressure once the ball entered the middle third. Those efforts disrupted Barcelona’s ability to establish any sort of rhythm in possession, though the corresponding space behind those lines always loomed as an incentive of sorts in case the home side ever found a way through.
For most of the first half, the benefits manifested for Leverkusen instead. Bellarabi -- deployed in a role just off Javier "Chicharito" Hernández -- thrived in the open field as Leverkusen claimed possession and then wielded it effectively. Those efforts choked off the supply to Neymar and Suarez and cut Barcelona adrift for most of the first half.
Papadopoulos confirmed Leverkusen’s superiority from a set piece after 22 minutes. Calhanoglu delivered to the near post with the sort of venom capable of paralyzing defenses. Jeremy Mathieu and Andre ter Stegen mustered a minimal response as Papadopolous rose to meet the driven ball and tuck it past the stranded goalkeeper.
Neymar hit the post six minutes before halftime, but Barcelona still looked second-best for the first hour. Only Hernández’s imprecision spared Barcelona from a greater deficit. His inability to combine with Bellarabi squandered an inviting opportunity on the break, while his wastefulness shortly after halftime prompted Roger Schmidt to insert Stefan Kiessling shortly thereafter.
All of the pressing inevitably extracted a toll on Leverkusen and paved the way for Barcelona’s improvement. The introductions of Jordi Alba (thrown into the mix after Andres Iniesta picked up an injury and trudged off) and Munir El Haddadi provided width and supplied more space to operate.
Neymar and Luis Suarez -- generally peripheral for most of the hour -- warmed to the task as the visitors started to tire. Neymar curled wide from a free kick just after the hour, while Gerard Pique nodded straight at Bernd Leno as the home side grasped firm control of the proceedings. Leverkusen scrambled well in a bid to preserve their deserved advantage, but the resistance finally broke in the final 10 minutes.
Sergio Busquets intervened in midfield as Leverkusen attempted to counter and sparked the move out to the left. Jordi Alba’s delivery found Munir unmarked at the penalty spot, but Leno produced a decent block to stop the initial attempt. Sergio Roberto swept home the remnants to restore parity.
Suarez separated the sides for good with the precision often missing in the early stages. Munir navigated his way down the right with a mixture of audacity and persistence. He slid past two defenders and pulled back for Suarez to smash into the roof of the net nine minutes from time.
The winner marked Suarez’s ninth goal in 12 UEFA Champions League appearances and rescued Barcelona on a night when those efforts were required. There is no Messi now, but there are other players capable of shouldering the load. It is a lesson worth heeding as this difficult period continues.
Barcelona's injury woes continue
Iniesta has hurt a leg muscle and will join Messi on the European champion's injured list.
The Spain playmaker grabbed the back of his right thigh and fell to the turf. He then motioned to the bench that he needed to come off as he gingerly strolled to the dugout. The Catalan club says Iniesta's progress will ''determine his availability to return to training.''
Information from The Associated Press and Goal.com were used in this report.
