Luis Suarez ‘won’t celebrate in the same way’ if he scores against Liverpool at Anfield

Luis Suarez insists he ‘won’t celebrate in the same way’ if the Barcelona striker finds the back at the net against Liverpool at Anfield on Tuesday night.

The Uruguayan striker opened the scoring for Barcelona at the Nou Camp last week in the first-leg and raced off behind the goal before finishing with a knee-slide celebration.

He faced criticism from sections of Liverpool’s supporters given many assumed he would opt not to celebrate against his former club. 

The Barcelona striker accepted the criticism that came his way from Liverpool supporters

After opening the scoring in the first-leg, Suarez ran behind the goal and slid on his knees

When quizzed on his celebration and if he would hesitate to do it again back at Anfield, Suarez accepted he would do things differently from that first leg.

‘Celebrating the goal? Everyone who football knows the importance of the goal I scored last week,’ he said.

‘I have all the respect in the world for Liverpool’s fans. I’m very thankful to them. If I score a goal here, I won’t celebrate it in the same way.’  

Suarez scored 82 goals in 133 appearances during a successful four-and-a-half-year spell

Suarez, who spent four-and-a-half years with the Reds, further antagonised the Liverpool supporters after he clashed with Andy Robertson and Virgil van Dijk during a thrilling first leg.  

Reflecting on his ‘fond memories’ on Merseyside, Suarez said he is prepared for a potentially hostile reception after his first-leg exploits but is hopeful for ‘more applause than whistles’ when he takes to the pitch.  

He said: ‘All the work I did here and the way I’m thankful for Liverpool. 

‘The team had four or five years without being in the Champions League, the people here know the work I did here. I think there will be more applause than whistles for me.

‘Being at Liverpool helped me in some many ways, it made me more professional, it helped me mature. Having players here with great experience allowed me to be better even more. 

‘Being captain of Liverpool was one of the proudest moments of my career. I won’t forget it.’ 

Suarez is hopeful despite the celebration, he will get ‘more applause than whistles’ at Anfield

Lots of the questions for the former Liverpool striker – who scored 82 goals in 133 appearances – surrounded Barcelona’s motivation after a resounding 3-0 first-leg victory.

But for Suarez, it is not possible for him to fail to be ‘up for games at Anfield’ given the atmosphere and the occasion.  

‘I was never not up for games at Anfield,’ he added. 

‘You’d play a game against a lower league team in the cup and the stadium would be full and it motivated you. If there was nothing on the game, it would still be full. The motivation is different now as I’m in a different shirt.’