SUAREZ SENDS BARCA FANS A POWERFUL MESSAGE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

• The Uruguayan is unavailable for the Copa final because of a knee injury.
• He writes on Twitter: "Work looking forward because you can always improve. Learning from the most difficult moments even if the situation is very painful! It’s hard but we need to be positive."

Luis Suarez won't be able to help Barcelona in the remaining matches of the 2018/2019 campaign, including the crucial Copa del Rey final against Valencia. The Uruguayan had to undergo a knee surgery right after the disastrous 4-0 Champions League defeat to Liverpool. He still hopes to get fit for the upcoming Copa America tournament in Brazil which starts next month.

Suarez posts an emotional message on his personal Twitter account: "Work looking forward because you can always improve. Learning from the most difficult moments even if the situation is very painful! It’s hard but we need to be positive."

He also adds a picture with a telling caption: 'Keep going, looking ahead'

Suarez has scored 25 goals and provided 13 assists in 49 games across all competitions this season. He has been an undisputed starter at the centre of Barcelona's attack as Kevin-Prince Boateng wasn't able to become the Uruguayan's competitor.

Will Suarez be missed against Valencia?

GUARDIOLA NAME REASON FOR BARCA WIN OVER LIVERPOOL

• Pep Guardiola has nothing bad to say about Liverpool's performance against Barca.
• He thinks the game was 'incredibly good'.
• And Man City manager also doesn't believe Barca's win vs LFC will help him in the title race.
• Pep also names the reason for Barca's victory - Leo Messi.

Barcelona brilliantly beat Liverpool 3-0 in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals.

The Reds' main competitor for the Premier League title Pep Guardiola was there to witness that tough moment for Liverpool. He watched the game from the Camp Nou stands supporting Barca as a regular Cule.

Barcelona legend does not believe Liverpool's defeat will throw them off course right before the end of the season because their performance was good:

"I don't think so, the game was incredibly good, both sides," Pep told reporters on Friday. "Liverpool were outstanding and a good performance from both. I enjoyed watching it," Guardiola said.

"I don't think it will affect them, I think it will be not easy at Newcastle but they'll be well prepared to win there."

And the reason for the Champions League result is obvious for Pep - it's just Messi:

"Yes [it's Messi].

"I think Barca defended really well, they beat an incredible team. Liverpool must be proud of what they did in the most difficult stadium, they played with personality and courage. Both teams played the way they did and they deserve it."

OFFICIAL BARCELONA XI VS LYON

 How would you rate Valverde's selection pick for the French side on a scale from 1 to 10?

Starting XI: Ter Stegen, Roberto, Pique, Lenglet, Alba, Busquets, Rakitic, Arthur, Coutinho, Messi, Suarez.

Subs: Cillessen, Semedo, Umtiti, Arturo Vidal, Aleñá, Malcom and Dembélé.

BARCELONA FANS PICK ONE SUPERSTAR THEY WANT TO REPLACE SUAREZ

 

• Barcelona supporters vote for Kylian Mbappe to become Luis Suarez's heir.
• Harry Kane and Luka Jovic are second and third respectively.

Mundo Deportivo's recent poll shows that Barcelona fans dream about signing Kylian Mbappe who could replace ageing Luis Suarez. Harry Kane, Robert Lewandowski, Antoine Griezmann and Neymar also were among the 20 options for bolstering the club's attack but the fans deliver a clear response: we want Mbappe.

The French sensation got 49% of the votes which is 35% more than the second-favourite Harry Kane who only managed 14%. Interestingly, Barca have been linked with Kane before but it is believed that the transfer of the Englishman might be even more difficult than the one of Mbappe.

Eintracht Frankfurt's Luka Jovic is the third most liked candidate with 7%. If Barca decides to pursue the Serbian they will face strong competition from Europe's best teams. Thus, Bild report that Real Madrid have lined up an official offer worth of €45m for the 21-year-old.

As for Mbappe, he is likely to remain in Paris despite the Financial Fair Play sanctions looming over the Ligue 1 champions. "It's not 100 per cent, but 2,000 per cent," the club's chief Al-Khelafi told reporters when asked about the probability of Neymar and Mbappe staying at PSG.