Luis Suarez continues to have a dream start to his Atletico Madrid career has he struck twice in a 2-2 draw with Celta Vigo in a La Liga contest on Monday. The former Barcelona star struck to first draw level late into the first half before handing the lead five minutes after the restart but couldn’t prevent a draw Vigo finding a late equaliser with Atletico maintaining their lead at the top of the standings.
In scoring twice for the former champions, Suarez set a new record with his 16 goals in 17 La Liga appearance for Atletico since joining from Barcelona last summer. He thus became the first player in history to score 16 goals in his first 17 games in the Spanish top-flight competition in the 21st century bettering the previous tally set by the iconic Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo, who joined Real Madrid from Manchester United in 2009 to break the then world-record transfer fee, scored 15 goals in 17 matches in a stunning start to his La Liga career. He eventually left Real as their all-time leading goal-scorer and currently plies his trade for Serie A giants Juventus.
The 34-year-old’s performance was another reminder of the mistake that Barca committed by letting him go in the transfer window given how they have struggled after his departure. Although they are now on a six-match winning streak but they are eight points adrift of leaders Atletico who have also played a game less.
Celta Vigo striker Iago Aspas had recently claimed that Barca made an error by selling Suarez. “The truth is he was a true forward, a winner even in rondos and training matches. He always gave 200 per cent,” Aspas, who had played with Suarez at Liverpool, told Marca.
“What you see on the pitch is what he’s like training. He’s always been a striker who scores a lot of goals, I think it was a big error on Barcelona’s part, but they were struggling a bit with the wage budget. Atletico took advantage, moved quickly and signed a great striker. In fact, many of the points they have won are thanks to him and his finishing,” he added.
