Barcelona star admits forgettable first impression for Spaniards in Saturday's El Clasico as his new club were defeated 3-1 by Real Madrid
Marked man: Barcelona's Luis Suarez (right) is closely marked by Real Madridu00c3u00a2u00c2u0080u00c2u0099s defender Dani Carvajal during Saturday's Spanish League match at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid. Pic/AFP
Madrid: Barcelona striker Luis Suarez described his return to action from a four-month ban for biting as bittersweet after the Catalans suffered their first league defeat of the season 1-3 away to Real Madrid on Saturday.
Marked man: Barcelona's Luis Suarez (right) is closely marked by Real Madrid’s defender Dani Carvajal during Saturday's Spanish League match at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid. Pic/AFP
ADVERTISEMENT
"I'm very happy to return to playing, it is a great relief to have this time behind me," said Suarez, who was substituted after 68 minutes.
"The feeling is bittersweet because of the result, but this team has lifted itself many times before."
It took the Uruguayan just three minutes to make an impact as he set up Neymar for the opening goal. But after Cristiano Ronaldo had levelled from the penalty spot 10 minutes before the break, Barca were blown away in the second-half by goals from Pepe and Karim Benzema.
"Obviously what everyone wants on a debut is a victory, even more so in a game of this magnitude. We did everything we could to get a good result, but it wasn't to be.
In the second-half they surprised us with their speed on the counter and killed the game. We have to move on and think about our next opponent, we are still a point ahead of Real Madrid," added Suarez.