‘Unbelievable’: remembering Luis Suárez’s Liverpool goal v Newcastle | Football

“Unbelievable,” José Enrique says for the umpteenth time as we speak, like many are doing right now, on Zoom. There is a great, necessary distance between us – he in Valencia, me in Beckenham – but Enrique’s words come through loud and clear, and that one in particular. It is used often and is apt given our conversation centres on something that happened more than seven years ago but still feels, well … unbelievable.

A special goal by a special player – Luis Suárez. Enrique’s face lights up at the mere mention of the forward he played alongside at Liverpool, with the Spaniard’s mood only darkening as he talks about the incidents that “killed” Suárez’s time in England. But overall the memories are positive – off the pitch Enrique and Suárez became friends while on it they formed a strong and productive relationship, seen most brilliantly on a cold Sunday afternoon in November 2012.

Newcastle United, the team Enrique had left in order to join Liverpool 15 months earlier, were the visitors to Anfield. They were in decent form but so too were the hosts, a young, dynamic side under a young dynamic manager in Brendan Rodgers. And they began well, dominating possession and chances. Cue shock, then, when Newcastle took the lead through Yohan Cabaye’s drive from an acute angle two minutes before half-time. It was a body blow for Liverpool and they needed a response, which they got on 67 minutes – a goal from Suárez, and perhaps the best he ever scored for the club.

That may be deemed a wild overstatement given the array of goals Suárez struck during his three-and-a-half years in a red shirt. It is hard to pick a winner, and that’s just from those against Norwich. But the one he put past Newcastle really was something else. “The touch of a genius,” was how Martin Tyler described it in commentary while from Enrique, who made it possible with a long pass from left-back, comes particularly striking praise: “It is one of the best goals I’ve ever seen from any player.”

Enrique’s role in the goal should not be overlooked. Having seized possession midway inside Liverpool’s half, he sent forward a delivery that had the required height, weight and distance to clear Newcastle’s midfield and then, crucially, their centre-backs, Fabricio Coloccini and Steven Taylor, as Suárez darted between them. Yet there was still a lot for the Uruguayan to do as the ball dropped towards him just inside the area at the Kop end. It was coming at speed and he had to collect it side-on and on the move while also dealing with Coloccini pressed up against his back. Most players would have stumbled and fumbled. But Suárez isn’t most players.

Instead he perfectly cushioned Enrique’s pass on a patch of body between his left shoulder and chest and then adjusted his frame so in one smooth movement, and practically in mid-air, he was now front on, allowing him to not only block Coloccini from getting to the ball but take it around the oncoming Tim Krul before prodding a shot into the net with the same foot. From start to finish the technique was sublime – a piece of performance art amid the crashing intensity of a Premier League encounter – and for the man who instigated it there was an instant sense that something special had happened.

“I knew it was an unbelievable goal because of where Luis was when I passed to him and where he ended up, but I didn’t realise just how unbelievable it was until I saw it on TV later,” says Enrique. “People see Luis and think he is this crazy guy who is running and pushing all the time but one of the reasons he is a top striker is because of the calm he shows under pressure. You see that with this goal; how he controls the ball, keeps it away from Coloccini and then has the tranquility to realise he needs to go around the goalkeeper to score. He makes it look simple, but it is not simple.”

During Suárez’s celebrations he can be seen pointing towards Enrique in a show of recognition for the assist that led to his third goal in three games. Rightly so, yet for the defender the moment was more one of relief than joy given he had not been having the best of games. “I always felt weird playing against Newcastle, maybe because they were my old club,” says Enrique. “But me and Luis had a very good understanding on the pitch – a connection – and even if I was playing bad I always felt I could find him.

“In most games Luis was the first player I’d look for when I got the ball and that was the same against Newcastle. He was far away but I could see that he was going to run between their centre-backs so my aim was to play a pass that was too high for them to reach even if they jumped. Thankfully it worked but Luis still had a lot of work to do and 99% of players could not have done what he did.”

The game ended 1-1 and that assist would ultimately be the second of six Enrique provided for Suárez before the Uruguayan’s £75m transfer to Barcelona in July 2014. He left having regularly dazzled for Liverpool, no more so than during the 2013-14 season, scoring 31 times as the team came painfully close to the Premier League title while he was named double footballer of the year. But there was also disgrace to contend with – racism and, on two occasions, bites, with the one inflicted on Giorgio Chiellini during that summer’s World Cup proving the final straw for many.

Enrique, who himself left Liverpool in May 2016 and now works as an agent and TV pundit in Spain having successfully undergone surgery for a brain tumour, does not excuse Suárez’s misdemeanours but insists they are not wholly reflective of the man he got to know on Merseyside. “I still have a good friendship with Luis and anyone who knows him will tell you he’s a top, top guy,” says the 34-year-old.

“I remember after I had my surgery I met Luis at a hotel in Valencia, before Barcelona played here, and brought the doctor who operated on me and his son as they are big Barcelona fans. Luis and [Philippe] Coutinho, who was also there, spent time with them and afterwards my doctor couldn’t believe how nice they are. But that is just them – they are nice people.

“Luis has always been like that, he’s an unbelievable person, but when he gets on the pitch he becomes very competitive – winning is everything and that caused him to make mistakes. He killed himself in England. I cannot explain what he did.”

What is for sure is that Suárez, now aged 33 and in his sixth and potentially final season at Barcelona, has been one of the most gifted talents of his generation. As far as Enrique is concerned he has only been bettered by two others – Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi – while his contribution for Liverpool was on a level that even the current crop have yet to match.

“Sadio Mané is my favourite Liverpool player and I believe Jordan Henderson should be named player of the year, but neither of them, or anyone in this team, has been as important for Liverpool as Luis was,” Enrique says. “In the season we nearly won the league he changed games on his own. He was unplayable and scored some amazing goals.”

He also scored some amazing goals prior to that campaign – one against Newcastle, especially. “For sure,” agrees Enrique with a nod and a smile. “It was unbelievable.”