Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde says he will not attempt to curb Luis Suarez‘s aggression ahead of Thursday night’s Copa del Rey semi-final second leg, despite Suarez being one yellow card away from being suspended for the final should his team prevail over Valencia.
Suarez, who has earned eight yellow cards across all competitions, missed last year’s final through suspension as well, not featuring in Barcelona’s win over Deportivo Alaves for their only trophy of the season.
“I’ve spoken with Luis Suarez about his character on the odd occasion,” Valverde said. “The aggression he has in attack, with how he looks for space and goals, is good for us, even if sometimes it can lead to a booking or something.
“But now we’ve got a semi-final to play. Suarez is experienced and he knows how to look after himself. We’re going to give everything to win. We will worry about the future later.”
Suarez has scored nine goals across all competitions in 2018, and thus he would be a big miss if Barcelona were to reach the final and he were to be suspended.
For now, the striker is concentrating on closing the tie against Valencia, with Barcelona holding a 1-0 lead from the first leg at the Camp Nou last week.
“It’s a minimal advantage that we have because there are 90 minutes left,” Suarez had said after the first leg.
“Valencia at home are always stronger and even more so in a Copa semi-final.”
