Luis Suarez's heroics against Manchester United showed why Liverpool no longer have to rely on Steven Gerrard
Uruguayan's all-action style can ease the load on the captain
7 Mar 2011 12:00:00
EPL: Luis Suarez, Liverpool v Manchester United
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By Nick Price
It may have taken Luis Suarez just 16 minutes to get off the mark in the Premier League, but it took the Uruguayan just over a month to silence any doubters and show thatLiverpool have a new man who can ease the burden on the strained shoulders of Steven Gerrard.
Despite Dirk Kuyt's hat-trick it was the £23 million man who took the plaudits at Anfield against Manchester United. As he did at West Ham, in vain, a week before, his dazzling close control set-up a tap-in for a team-mate, and a superb second-half free-kick did likewise, but aside from the goals he made, his dribbling and skills tormented a weakened backline throughout.
Over the past decade it has been largely the captain who has taken the brunt of the attention from opposition midfields and defences, especially so when Rafael Benitez did what no England manager has dared to do by removing Gerrard from his self-proclaimed and media-propogated "best position" and deployed him in a free role behind a striker.
This season and last, however, have shown a decline in the 30-year-old's game, – be that because of an ageing body, the chaotic and for a long time seemingly suicidal morale of the squad, or the loss of Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano – and proved that the team needed another totem to hang its hopes on. Someone who could link play, apply the final touches to moves or simply create something stupendous out of nothing (Fernando Torres, for all his brilliance, could only do the latter two).
Alberto Aquilani proved too injury prone and slender to show that he has what it takes to cope with the physical demands of English football, while Joe Cole appears by the week to be one of the most ill-thought signings in recent seasons.
Suarez's emergence against the league leaders, and Liverpool's most bitter of rivals, could therefore not have been more timely. The 24-year-old carries a Carlos Tevez-like timber on his short frame, and like the Argentinean striker he has already shown the street smarts that will allow him to endure the sometimes brutish nature of life in the Premier League.
Slalom Suarez | Striker slinked past four defenders to set-up Kuyt's first
His stats in Dutch football make him seem solely a goalscorer, but he has shown in four appearances a selfless streak and a wiliness that will frustrate opponents. On Sunday the former Ajax man had an almost magnetic hold over United's defence. Every time he was near the ball, which was often given his tendency to drop into pockets of space and plead for possession, Chris Smalling and company would focus their attentions towards him.
Such diversion adds variety to Liverpool's play and could yet prolong the usefulness of Gerrard, whose injury-affected display on Sunday hinted either at a fading force adapting to a new and more disciplined role or a player entering into a quieter final phase to an explosive career.
In either case, Kenny Dalglish now has a new guy to call to ease the load on a captain who is
 "Like Tevez, Suarez has shown the street smarts to endure life in the sometimes brutish Premier League" |
Indeed, there is a case to be made that Raul Meireles, several years younger than Gerrard, is the more refined midfielder in a withdrawn position. While the Portuguese international lacks the sheer talent of his team-mate, he has a more cerebral mind, better aware of the space behind him and a more natural partner to the ever-improving Lucas Leiva.
Regardless, Suarez's emergence as creator, tormentor and finisher will divert attention away from Gerrard and allow him to use his talents – the ability to pick out a pass, to arrive late in the box or to create the space to thump a shot from deep – efficiently without ravaging a body that has for almost an entire career had to pull off near-superhuman feats just to keep his team in with a shout.
And while Suarez may not go on to replicate the phenomenal goalscoring feats of Torres, the man he had expected to partner but would ultimately replace at Anfield, he has shown that he may be more useful to the team as a whole than the Spaniard ever was.
The only problems Dalglish – if he is, as now seems inevitable, to become manager on a long-term basis – has on his plate is deciding who shall partner the World Cup star for the remainder of the season and bringing in the sort of talent that can complement the Kop's new hero.
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