Luis Enrique labels Suarez 'priceless' following Barca's victory over Eibar

Luis Suarez has scored 7 league goals this season

Barcelona manager Luis Enrique has praised Luis Suarez after he hit a hat-trick which took them level on points with rivals Real Madrid at the top of La Liga table, ESPN reported. Enrique has claimed the Uruguayan irreplaceable and priceless following their 3-1 win over Eibar on Sunday.

The 28-year-old was celebrating the first anniversary of his debut as a Barca player following his four-month ban for biting Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Despite moving to Nou Camp from Liverpool last year, Suarez sat out the first two months of his season with the Catalan side. But when his suspension was over, he made a remarkable comeback and start to his Barca career by inspiring them to a treble-winning campaign along with a personal goal scoring tally of 25 goals in all competitions.

The former Liverpool striker has continued his incredible form from the last term and it showed in his side’s 3-1 victory over Eibar at the weekend. In the absence of teammate Lionel Messi, who is sidelined with a ligament tear, the mercurial Suarez levelled the scoreline midway through the first half despite conceding a shocking goal in the early stages of the game.

The second half got off to a flier and the Uruguay international netted twice - taking his La Liga tally for the season to 7 goals in 8 appearances. His hat-trick was enough to seal three points to the home side, thus keeping pace with rivals Madrid in the race to the league title.

Suarez put up a performance worthy of praise and club manager Enrique did just that - hailing him irreplaceable and priceless in the post match interview.

“Luis Suarez brings us a lot.” he said.

“What he gives you is priceless and unquestionable. He has that power in the area and is irreplaceable. What I like about my team is that we can overcome any situation.”

It’s a special hat-trick: Suarez

The former Ajax striker reflected on the game and has admitted they had to dig deep to come from behind. Suarez has also expressed his delight over hitting the hat-trick at a time when he was celebrating his anniversary at Barca.

“We gifted the first goal and from then against a team like Eibar the difficulties start. It was difficult for us and we turned the game around more thanks to our intensity than playing at our best.”

“It's a special hat trick, coming one year after my debut. The end result is that we won a game we were losing. We're already thinking about the next [game].”