Valencia 2-0 Barcelona: 3 talking points as Blaugrana suffer first defeat under Quique Setien | La Liga 2019-20

#1 Luiz Suarez could be a big miss for Barcelona

Valencia CF v FC Barcelona - La Liga

Earlier in January, Luis Suarez picked up a knee injury against Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Supercup semifinals. The club subsequently revealed that Suarez had undergone surgery on his knee and would be out for 4 months.

Suarez’s injury was a big blow to the Catalans. The Uruguayan had been an important figure for Barcelona this season and had already scored 14 times from 23 games before injuring himself. In his absence, Barcelona are without a proper number 9 in the team and against Valencia, the Uruguayan was a big miss.

Setien opted for a front three of Fati, Griezmann, and Messi on the day, however, the team missed the movement and positioning of Suarez in the final third. Lionel Messi did lead a late assault on the home defence, but the Argentinean failed to inspire his team on the night. Messi had 11 shot, 4 of which were on target.

Barcelona will surely be considering bringing in a replacement before the transfer window closes, because, as the game against Valencia showed Suarez could be a big miss for the Catalans this season.