Liverpool vs Barcelona: ‘Luis Suarez behaved like a rat’, claims former Reds striker John Aldridge
Suarez returns to Anfield with Barcelona for Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg but the warm reception that may have once awaited him no longer exists, claims Aldridge
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Your support makes all the difference.Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge has labelled Barcelona striker Luis Suarez “out of order” for “behaving like a rat” in the Champions League semi-final first leg.
Suarez opened the scoring at the Nou Camp in what turned out to be a 3-0 victory for the recently-crowned La Liga champions, leaving Liverpool facing one of the biggest comebacks in European history if they are to reach a second consecutive Champions league final next month.
The Uruguay international left Liverpool in 2014 after three-and-a-half years at Anfield, playing a key role in their title near miss during the 2013/14 season before departing for Barcelona that summer.
But having retained a strong support from Liverpool fans, Suarez saw that backing turn on him after the first leg after celebrating his opening goal, and the criticism he received came none stronger than from former Reds striker Aldridge, who hit out at the forward for being “everything people used to tell us” during his Anfield days.
“Suarez behaved like a rat in the Champions League semi-final against Liverpool and it was out of order,” Aldridge told the Irish Independent.
“What was not acceptable was his antics on and off the ball, as he got into the faces of Liverpool players, fell over any time anyone went near him and tried to get his opponents booked at every opportunity.
“He was sneaky, he was nasty and he was everything people used to tell us Suarez was when everyone at Liverpool was trying to defend him.
“We know this is a guy who would run over his granny to score a goal, but everyone should have some respect for those who have been good to you in the past, but Suarez threw the support Liverpool gave him back in our faces.”
Suarez’s time at Anfield did not go without its controversy, with the Uruguayan found by the Football Association to have racially abused former Manchester United defender Patrice Evra in 2011 while he was also banned for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic two years later.
Aldridge believes that Liverpool fans and the club as a whole decided to stand by Suarez because of what he offered on the pitch, but after seeing his antics employed against them last week he no longer believes that support exists any more.
“It would have been easy for Liverpool to turn their back on Suarez after his infamous clash with Patrice Evra or when he sank his teeth into Branislav Ivanovic, but our club stands by their own when times are tough and that's what we all did with this little striker,” Aldridge added.
“We could see he was high maintenance and did things we didn't like. He was a bit of a diver at times and biting opponents is bang out of order, but his brilliance on the field ensured he was worth the hassle that came with him.”
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