A QUICKFIRE BRACE from Luis Suarez put Barcelona on course for the Champions League semi-finals as they claimed a comfortable 3-1 first-leg advantage in their quarter-final meeting with Paris Saint-Germain.
After Neymar’s 18th-minute strike had given the Catalan giants an important away goal at the Parc des Princes, Suarez scored twice in 12 second-half minutes to help Barca put one foot in the last four.
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Having nutmegged substitute David Luiz, the Uruguayan held off Marquinhos and Maxwell to nudge home his first, before outfoxing Luiz again en route to a beautifully-finished strike.
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That set the seal on the result and put Barca on the verge of a seventh European semi-final in eight seasons, with Gregory van der Wiel’s deflected strike eight minutes from time doing little to offer Laurent Blanc’s side hope.
Having fallen behind early on, the French champions were also hit by the injury-enforced withdrawal of captain Thiago Silva – and that loss was keenly felt. His absence added to the omissions of energetic midfielder Marco Verratti and talismanic striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic – both serving one-match bans – and the hosts now face an uphill battle in the return leg next Tuesday.
