Valverde: Suárez still at his peak
The Uruguayan continued his vein of form in front of goal as he led Barcelona past Rayo Vallecano on Saturday evening.
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde praised the in-form Luis Suárez after the forward's brace against Rayo Vallecano.
Stepping up
Suárez has stepped up with Lionel Messi sidelined due to injury and his double helped Barça to a hard-fought 3-2 win on Saturday. The Uruguay international has netted six times in his past four games, while he is LaLiga's top scorer with nine. Valverde said the former Liverpool forward, 31, was still at his peak.
"Luis Suárez has been playing at the top of his ability for a very long time," he told a news conference.
"We need him"
"Right now, he's scoring goals, more goals than perhaps before. We need him and we're extremely happy with him."
Barca were trailing 2-1 until the 87th minute, when Ousmane Dembele equalised, before Suárez 's late heroics. Valverde's men hold a four-point lead atop LaLiga, although Deportivo Alavés can close that gap to one on Sunday.