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Luis Suárez rushed out of the Camp Nou this closed season in a way that suggested he was dead and buried as a high-level forward, but his early performances for Atlético de Madrid have shown him to be the opposite.
The Uruguayan has five goals and an assist to his name in nine games so far in 2020/21, and his presence has unlocked young Portuguese Joao Félix to reach heights that seemed impossible for him last season. Ángel Correa, the Argentine striker for Atleti, has also praised his South American compatriot for the example he has been setting in training camp.
“Suárez is a great striker,” he told Mundo Deportivo. “The numbers speak for themselves. What the team usually does is bring a lot of balls to the area, because that’s where they feel most comfortable and that’s where they can beat us games. Besides being a great player, he’s also an excellent person . He’s just one of us and he works like one of us. He’s very humble, and that’s something that the team notices and appreciates. “
Many have pointed to Atleti as the best placed to fight for the LaLiga title this season. The Rojiblancos are currently third, three points behind Real Sociedad in the first position, but with two games in hand. For Correa, it is important to maintain their strong start if they want to seriously challenge for top honors at the end of the season.
“Last year we had a lot of draws and at the end of the season we are sorry,” he said. “This year we don’t want the same to happen to us. We know what it means to wear the Atlético de Madrid jersey, what it means to go out and win every game. That’s our idea: prepare to win every game, and we want to be up there. [fighting for honours] until the end. We are working to achieve this by improving on last year’s figures and we are on the right track. “
Also important for Correa in the strong opening of the Atleti campaign are the performances of Félix, with the 21-year-old released by the presence of the more gray-haired Suárez: the Portuguese has scored seven and has assisted three from the first ten. “He’s a crack,” Correa said. “It was clear that when he had the continuity and the freedom that he has now, he will be able to show the type of player he is. We know that the longer the ball has, the more danger it will create and that it will do the team a lot of good.
Correa has spent most of his career with Atleti, having joined them from Argentina’s San Lorenzo at age 20 in 2015. In his time in the Spanish capital he won the Europa League and the European Super Cup, and also won a runner-up medal in the 2016 Champions League final.
Featured image courtesy of Goal.
