Luis Suarez rips Deportivo to shreds as Barcelona end slump

Rumors of Barcelona’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. Yes, the Catalans were in dire straits heading into Wednesday’s tilt against Deportivo.

Mired in an unfathomable three-match losing streak, Barcelona were left for dead. They’d been bounced from the Champions League. They’d relinquished their fat cushion in La Liga. Lionel Messi wasn’t scoring! All was lost, right?

Well, not quite. Despite their concerning string of misfiring, Barcelona’s attacking band is still the stuff of a defender’s nightmares. Luis Suarez gave us a reminder of that, notching an impressive 4 goals against Deportivo. Oh, he also racked up 3 assists in the 8-nil rout. Here are Suarez’s four goals … Pick your favorite!

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The hat trick gives El Pistolero six for the season in all competitions, tying Ronaldo’s mark. If Barca maintain their winning streak (and let’s face it, they don’t exactly have a difficult run of matches to close out the season) the title is theirs. Their chief competition, Atletico Madrid, still have two legs of Champions League semifinal football against Bayern Munich to contend with. Even if Atletico win out to match Barcelona’s points total, the goal-difference margin is too vast.

Barcelona still have issues that need addressing, but a good pasting surely helps smooth over the cracks … and quiet the doubters.

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