Luis Suarez: Liverpool have signifcant absentees but Barcelona must respect them

[Stendhal 𐌕]

Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firminowill miss Liverpool's match against Barcelona on Tuesday but Luis Suarezinsists that the Reds still have plenty of quality in reserve.

The two teams will face each other in the return leg of the Champions Leaguesemi-finals at Anfield and the Uruguayan striker has claimed that the Blaugranahave to be focused despite the three-goal advantage that his side hold from the first match.

"There are significant absentees for Liverpool, but this doesn't change our plan," he said, during his press conference on the eve of the game.

"They have other players with different skills and the majority of them play for their national teams so you have to respect them.

"I think we have to be aware that, apart from having a good result in the first leg, we suffered some tough blows in previous years when we already had a good advantage.

"In these games you have to be aware of all the details, as they will go out and press from the first second and you shouldn't make silly mistakes because they have big players," he noted

Suarez went on to talk about his return to the Anfield, where he spent three and a half years before moving to Spain.

"I enjoyed it here and I'm very grateful for everything it gave me, as I joined the elite of football thanks to Liverpool," he added.

"Liverpool made me mature, as I improved technically and being captain of the team was one of the only things that happened to me here.

"It is a plus for the Liverpool player to play here, but we are also professionals and we will be at the level of a Champions League semi-final."

The 32-year-old opened the scoring in the first game and celebrated his goal against his former club.

"People who know football, understand and love this sport, know what it means to score a goal in the Champions Leaguesemi-finals," he noted.

"I celebrated it with my fans and then I asked for forgiveness and some Liverpoolfans applauded me.

"Obviously [at Anfield] I wouldn't celebrate it out of respect for the people, nor did I do it at Groningen with Ajax.

"People know how much work someone has done here and I think there will be more applause than whistles.

"People in the kitchen have prepared me a gift, my daughter was born here and my son knows the chants, and they will come here tomorrow."

Edited May 8, 2019 by - Dark
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