You can fault Suarez's individual actions (his finishing can be akin to an off form Benzema, his dribbling/passing comparable to an off form Di Maria) but you can't fault his contribution to the team in general.
Messi's most amazing run of form since early 2013 has been after the inclusion of Suarez into the side, as a direct result of what Suarez does. Suarez's presence allows Messi to roam on the right and link up with Alves, one of his best weapons. Suarez has provided a number of goalscoring chances or assists to Messi. Suarez's various runs and movements create space for Messi to attack channels at will instead of being static the way he was in both Tito's/Tata's systems as the lone 'central' outlet. Suarez has also been key to unlocking the most cohesive and dangerous front three unit we've had since MVP (2011, 4 years ago). All 3 link up well and create chances for each other, greatly facilitating our best player (Messi).
One can make an easy general claim that "Alexis also provides workrate/movement" but if you were to ask Messi which player helps him perform better of the two I can practically guarantee he'd say Suarez. Alexis's attacking movement was more peripheral than Suarez's is and he wasn't exactly creating space for others by doing it. He was just getting into good positions for his own chances (which he'd either fluff or score confidently, depending on his form). Pedro is more of a support player than Alexis was and yet he doesn't even facilitate things for his teammates as much as Suarez does.
I fully agree that Suarez is not performing up to the level that he's capable of (he can be much more clinical/refined in practically every aspect) but there's no way you can belittle his importance.
Great post, I completely agree with you here.
The thing to not forget about Suarez' movement compared to that of "any 20-30m striker", is that his top level is so well known that he gets a lot of respect from defenders, so they have to track him constantly and not let him slip. This creates space. Even when he's this out of form in finishing, everyone knows that if you let him slip into the space he's constantly attacking unmarked, chances are he will score (like against Atletico). Defenders know this, and this respect they have for him combined with his very good movement creates so much space for Messi and the others.
People should calm down, it's obvious that his top level is far above what he showed yesterday. He had a bad night on top of being out of form lately, so what. He's bound to improve soon, remember he hasn't even played from the beginning of the season like the others, and even while being rusty I feel he's been a great addition to the team and has added a lot in the few months he's played.
