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What's the story?
Barcelona ace Luis Suarez has apologised to Liverpool fans for wildly celebrating his goal against them during the first leg of their Champions League semi-final fixture last week. Instead, if he scores at Anfield, the striker would not celebrate.
In case you didn't know...
The former Liverpool star scored the opener as Barcelona demolished Jurgen Klopp's title-chasing team in the first leg of their fixture at Camp Nou. His goal was soon followed by a brace from Lionel Messi to further increase the advantage the Catalans had over the Reds.
The Uruguayan was seen engrossed in wild celebrations after the goal, thereby upsetting his fans from Liverpool and drawing criticism from a number of pundits.
The Premier League giants will host the La Liga champions at Anfield later tonight in what promises to be a thrilling clash. The Merseyside outfit will either cause one of the biggest upsets in European history by miraculously beating Barcelona to progress to the finals, or, they will struggle to score enough goals to overcome their first-leg deficit.
The Reds will also be without Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah as the attacking duo has been sidelined due to injury. Meanwhile, Barcelona should be in full force out to attack after resting their key players over the weekend.
The heart of the matter
Speaking ahead of the clash, Suarez has apologised to the Reds brigade and has promised that he will not celebrate in the same way if he scores later tonight.
The Barcelona star said (via BBC), "I think people know the work I did here. I think there will be more applause than whistles. There may be quite a few who are not happy but I think there will be more who are happy and grateful."
"Celebrating the goal last week, people who know about football, who love this sport, know about the importance of this."
"I have all the respect in the world for the Liverpool fans. Because I scored and celebrated with my fans, I say sorry."
"Obviously, it is clear that if I score a goal against Liverpool I won't celebrate it in the same way."
What's next?
Watch the decisive second leg between Barcelona and Liverpool later tonight at 12.30AM (IST). After that, Liverpool will focus on their Premier League title battle on the last matchday of the season.
