Former Liverpool talisman Luis Suarez struck twice as Barcelona eased to a 3-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League quarter-final, first leg.
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The Uruguay international gave ex-Chelsea defender David Luiz a torrid time with both second-half efforts, which came after Brazilian forward Neymar had given the visitors the lead in the first period.
A Jeremy Mathieu own goal with eight minutes of the game remaining gave faint hope to PSG, who were missing suspended star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but they face an almighty task to overturn the deficit when they travel to the Nou Camp for the second leg.
They got what they deserved from this encounter after failing to hit the ground running with a fast tempo, and they were punished in the most brutal way by their plucky guests.
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi went close to opening the scoring with 12 minutes on the clock, only to see his bending effort strike a post:
It should have been a wake-up call for the home side, but only six minutes later the deadlock was broken courtesy of a cool finish from Neymar, following good work from Messi:
Former Newcastle United midfielder Yohan Cabaye was perhaps lucky to escape with just a yellow card following a late, rash challenge on Barca counterpart Andres Iniesta:
PSG attacker Javier Pastore attempted to reduce the arrears early in the second period, but goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen was equal to his long drive:
Suarez doubled the visitors’ advantage in the 67th minute with a superb solo effort, tying Luiz in knots before squeezing the ball home:
PSG targetman Edinson Cavani, who had a disappointing game in the absence of the influential Ibrahimovic, saw his best effort batted away by der Stegen:
Suarez was at it again 11 minutes from the end, compounding Luiz’s misery with more trickery:
A late own goal from Mathieu, via an effort from PSG full-back Gregory van der Wiel, was a late consolation for Laurent Blanc’s men: