In an interview with Mundo Deportivo, Suarez described Sergio Ramos as strong, competitive and full of experience. The center forward's recent revelations come at a time when soccer lovers from across the world are gearing up for an epic encounter between Real Madrid and Barcelona on November 21, 2015. His team mate Lionel Messi is fighting to regain full fitness ahead of the much-anticipated El Clasico.
During the interview, the Barcelona forward explained, ''He’s the toughest defender that I’ve come up against. He’s very strong, competitive and has plenty of experience. That’s one of the reasons why there is added importance on the goal I scored against Real Madrid at the Nou Camp [last season].''
Checkmate: Sergio Ramos keeps Suarez on check in a previous El Clasico match
Suarez's La Liga performance this season
- Matches played: 11
- Goals scored: 13
- Assists: 15
- Minutes played: 1038
Suarez celebrates his second hattrick for Barcelona against Eibar on his first anniversary at the club
Ramos' La Liga performance this season
- Matches played: 5
- Tackles won: 6
- Interceptions: 23
- Clearances: 31
- Blocks: 6
Suarez has scored only once in the last two appearances for Barcelona against Real Madrid. In his first appearance on October 25, 2014, he had a difficult time finding the back of the net marshalled by a hawk-eyed Ramos. He would then provide an assist for Neymar who scored Barcelona’s opening goal.
However, the 28-year-old goal poacher finally managed to score against Real Madrid on March 22, 2015 in his second El Clasico appearance. Barcelona won the tightly-contested fixture 2-1. Interestingly, Sergio Ramos started for the Los Blancos and gave him a hard time before the former Liverpool man received a long ball from Dani Alves, controlled it, and blasted it past Iker Casillas to score one of the greatest El Clasico goals in history.
Luis Suarez controls the ball past Pepe (far right) and the advancing Ramos (middle)
No where to run: Ramos has been giving Suarez a tough time even on international duty
The two players have also met at the international scene on several occasions, most recently in the Confederations Cup in 2013. Despite losing 2-1 to Spain, Suarez scored a stunning free kick after failing to penetrate Spain's defense under the watchful Ramos. Here are some statistics comparing the two player's performances during the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Luis Suarez
- Appearances: 2
- Goals scored: 2
- Average pass accuracy: 50%
- Chances created: 3
- Average duels won: 15%
- Average defensive actions: 2
Sergio Ramos
- Appearances: 3
- Chances created: 1
- Average Duels won: 60%
- Average pass accuracy: 84%
- Average defensive actions: 8
During the 2014 World Cup, FIFA slapped the Uruguayan with a four-month ban from any football related activity after he was found guilty of biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini. This explains why he played fewer matches in the global competition compared to the Spaniard.
