{"id":1229935,"date":"2021-10-21T15:56:36","date_gmt":"2021-10-21T14:56:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1229935"},"modified":"2021-10-21T15:56:36","modified_gmt":"2021-10-21T14:56:36","slug":"luis-suarez-when-el-pistolero-stole-pichichi","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/luis-suarez-when-el-pistolero-stole-pichichi\/","title":{"rendered":"El Pistolero: Remembering Luis Su\u00e1rez’s sensational run in 2015\/16 to steal the Pichichi from Ronaldo"},"content":{"rendered":"

The race for the Pichichi in 2015\/16 will always be remembered as a classic, not least because of the phenomenal attacking talent on display at that time. <\/strong><\/p>\n

But the story of this season was Luis Su\u00e1rez\u2019s late surge to steal the award from Cristiano Ronaldo, when it had seemed destined to end up in the hands of the Madeiran, who would have been only the fourth player to win the Pichichi three times in a row. <\/p>\n

Coming at the tail end of a fearsome run of winning totals, Su\u00e1rez took the award with 40 goals in 35 league appearances, leaving Ronaldo and Bar\u00e7a teammate Leo Messi in his wake. It was the fifth time in six seasons that the winner scored 40 or more goals, and the Uruguayan ended the six-year duopoly of those two iconic scorers. <\/p>\n

It was also El Pistolero<\/em>\u2019s most prolific season in Spain, and shattered his own personal record set in the Eredivisie with Ajax \u2013 35 goals in 33 appearances in 2009\/10. Counting assists too, Su\u00e1rez’s 56 direct goal contributions eclipsed the 43 he registered at Liverpool in 2013\/14, widely appreciated as one of the greatest individual campaigns in the Premier League era.<\/p>\n

But perhaps even more remarkable was the relentless climax to the season which saw Su\u00e1rez catch Ronaldo and then leave him for dust. After 33 rounds of matches, Ronaldo was odds-on for the trophy having scored 31 goals, including five against Espanyol and four against Celta. And Messi? Well, this campaign was one characterised by niggling injuries, with the Argentine missing a number of league matches as a result. At this stage, he had registered only 23, and was miles behind. <\/p>\n\n

So too was Su\u00e1rez, sitting on 26. He had enjoyed a purple patch in the run-up to Christmas, scoring 10 goals in seven matches, and then another run of seven in five in the new year. The highlight was the 6-1 win against Celta. Su\u00e1rez was involved in five of the six goals, scoring a hat-trick and assisting two more. The hat-trick goal itself went down in folklore. Messi won a penalty and was set to take it, before passing the penalty to his right where Su\u00e1rez slotted it home. The devastating duo showed Thierry Henry and Robert Pires how it should be done.<\/p>\n

But then Su\u00e1rez suffered a barren run at the worst possible time, scoring just once in six appearances in the spring, leading up to Matchday 33. This negatively impacted the team, as Luis Enrique\u2019s side lost three in a row and suffered defeat in the Champions League, surrendering their European crown at the quarter-final stage with Diego Simeone\u2019s Atl\u00e9tico Madrid progressing at their expense. Bar\u00e7a\u2019s season was threatening to unravel. The treble-winners from 2015 were out of Europe and had almost blown their lead in La Liga.<\/p>\n

Taking all of this into account, the Pichichi race seemed inconsequential and as good as over. Trailing Ronaldo by five goals with only five rounds left, and with Su\u00e1rez going through that lean patch, it seemed certain that no one would be catching the Madrid marksman. But that is when it all changed. That is when Su\u00e1rez turbocharged. El Pistolero<\/em> turned gunslinger extraordinario<\/em>. <\/p>\n

First up, he scored back-to-back pokers, consecutive four-goal hauls in the space of four days \u2013 first at Riazor, in Barcelona\u2019s crushing 8-0 victory over Deportivo La Coru\u00f1a, before repeating the feat at Camp Nou in the similarly emphatic 6-0 thrashing of Sporting Gij\u00f3n. In the game at Riazor, Su\u00e1rez encapsulated everything about his form. Not only did he score the four goals, all classic finishes, but he assisted three more: one for Ivan Rakiti\u0107, one for Messi and one for Neymar. Seven direct goal involvements in one game, as rare as it was magnificent.<\/p>\n

\n

Luis Suarez's game by numbers vs. Deportivo:<\/p>\n

92% pass acc.
5 shots on target
4 goals
3 assists<\/p>\n

Back with a bang. pic.twitter.com\/7FjiYnh1au<\/a><\/p>\n

— Squawka (@Squawka) April 21, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n