Suarez helps Barcelona finally win on the road
Luis Suarez set Barcelona on its way to a first away victory of the LaLiga season as it won 2-0 at Getafe on Sunday (AEST).
Barcelona got what it came for — three points safely accrued ahead of Thursday's (AEST) Champions League clash with Inter Milan — despite some often dicey defending.
For coach Ernesto Valverde, the pressure eases just a little, and the fact his side notched this victory without Lionel Messi and Ousmane Dembele, both sidelined with thigh injuries, would have been another source of encouragement.
Suarez lobbed in the 41st-minute opener, and Junior Firpo tucked in Barcelona's second from close range early in the second half for his first goal for the club. Getafe spurned first-half chances it might have gobbled up on another day and Clement Lenglet's 84th-minute dismissal for two yellow cards came too late to give it any real advantage.
Valverde fielded a front three of Carles Perez, Suarez and Antoine Griezmann. The game largely passed Griezmann by, not for the first time since his summer switch from Atletico Madrid.
Getafe was unbeaten in its past eight home LaLiga matches; however, Barcelona had won on 10 of its 14 previous visits to Coliseum Alfonso Perez in LaLiga, more than any other visiting side.
Perez tested David Soria in the Getafe goal early on, before Suarez stabbed a shot wide after a smart throughball from Frenkie de Jong.
Barcelona's defence was then picked apart too easily, with Angel allowed space to shoot from six yards, his strike blocked by the legs of Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Jaime Mata had a close-range effort deflect wide off Junior at the other, with Barcelona increasingly shambolic at the back.
But Suarez pounced to give Barcelona a 1-0 lead in the 41st minute when a clearance from Ter Stegen turned into a great long ball for the Uruguay striker to chase, and he lobbed Soria in style.
Soria was culpable for Barcelona's second four minutes into the second half, as he could only push a 25-yard shot from Perez back into play, and Junior had an easy finish.
Suarez and Perez almost added to the lead, while Arthur nearly fired past Soria into an empty net after the goalkeeper went walkabout, but two was enough.
A major test awaits Barcelona as it tackles Serie A high-flyer Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League on Thursday (AEST). Getafe faces FC Krasnodar in the UEFA Europa League on Friday (AEST).
