Luis Suarez has warned Barcelona’s rivals that “there’ll be a lot of Lionel Messi for a while yet” after his hat-trick against Espanyol on Saturday.
Suarez got on the scoresheet during Barca’s 5-0 thrashing of Espanyol after a month out with a knee injury, but the night belonged to Messi, who netted three of the Blaugrana’s five goals.
“After days without doing anything, I did well to get my sharpness back during the international break with the little physical condition I had,” the striker said after the Catalan derby.
“These are three important points, which allow us to stay ahead of our title rivals, but the season’s just begun.
“Messi? It’s a privilege to play with the best player in the world. He continues to show that there’ll be a lot of Messi for a while yet.
“The season is long, but it’s been going well for us. Valverde? He asked me how I was, but the more I play, the more I’ll get back to my usual self after a knee injury.”