Luis Suarez paid tribute to Barcelona’s fans as he felt the “12th man” helped the side over the line against Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday.
The No 9 found the all-important equaliser for La Blaugrana as they eventually defeated the Basques 3-1 to reach the last four, having prevailed 5-2 on aggregate, and he was appreciative of the support his team received.
“Obviously we were aware that nothing’s ever done in these types of games [until the final whistle],” he said after the game.
“We had a good advantage [from the first leg], but Athletic scored an early goal, which made [Wednesday’s game] a little complicated.
“We didn’t have a good first half. That wasn’t our idea, but we came back out to win the game with the [right] attitude, and that’s the most important thing.
“We know Athletic press well and make it difficult for you to play from the back.
“We were struggling to bring out the ball, but fortunately we corrected those mistakes at half-time and did well in the second half.
“We know [Sergio Busquets] is more than important for this team.
“We knew Athletic would play like this and that we were inferior [in the first half].
“[The MSN] are always scoring, and the team are happy with us.
“We know the fans are the 12th man, and they’re very important for us.
“We knew we weren’t playing well, and we needed their support [to win the game].”
