Liverpool's Suarez takes a bite out of Chelsea

Footballers do a lot of very unpleasant things. They cheat by feigning injuries and diving in the penalty area, they verbally abuse referees, and deliberately elbow opponents in the face. They spit; sometimes they launch their studs at another player’s knee. Only extremely rarely, however, do they drive their teeth into the flesh of an adversary. Biting is such a primitive human instinct that we only really associate it as something exhibited in the behaviour of toddlers. They might bite when they are stressed or cannot communicate their needs, but from school age onwards it is virtually unheard of among mentally stable people. Most of us wouldn’t know what it feels like to be bitten. Branislav Ivanovic does. [caption id=“attachment_717168” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Biting off more than he can chew? All eyes will be on Suarez this week. AFP[/caption] The exquisite skill of Luis Suarez on the football field makes him one of the finest players in the world today, and one of the best to wear the all-red kit of Liverpool FC. But there is something in the psyche of the 26-year-old from Uruguay that leads him to do some unbelievably idiotic things. In November 2010, Suarez was playing for his previous club Ajax when he planted his incisors into the shoulder of PSV’s Otman Bakkal, and was suspended for seven matches. He promptly left for Liverpool. On Sunday, in the second half of a frustrating afternoon for the South American, he bit the biceps muscle of Chelsea defender Ivanovic. Referee Kevin Friend didn’t see the incident, but any sort of retrospective action taken now by the English FA could easily mean that Suarez’s last act for the Reds will be the injury-time headed equaliser he scored in front of the Kop. That is now almost certain to follow, given that Suarez has apologised for what he called “inexcusable” behaviour, and given that the club has already pledged to deal with the matter internally. The only glimmer of hope for Liverpool fans (most of whom are able to forgive the unpleasant excesses of this outstanding player) would be that he elects not to make a summer move. But it’s already been widely reported that he wants Champions League football somewhere next season and this incident surely makes a transfer even more likely. Watching Suarez carefully throughout the match, it was noticeable just how wound up he was. A couple of times he lost his footing, slipping when turning sharply. On other occasions, he beat one man (usually David Luiz) only to be denied by another (often Ivanovic, who had a good game). He was doing everything a bit too frantically, trying too hard to make an impression after four games without a goal. This was also Liverpool’s last big game of the season, with not even a Europa League spot to play for. Whether any of these things exacerbated Suarez’s spiky attitude can only be speculated at, but the penalty he conceded with an overhead handball as his team defended a corner was just another sign that not all was well inside the striker’s complex brain. He looked very down on himself afterwards as Oscar scored the penalty to re-establish Chelsea’s 2-1 lead, and second-half substitute Daniel Sturridge was generally much more of a threat to a Blues defence who now sat back in an effort to protect that lead. It was during one of a wave of Liverpool attacks that Suarez cut inside only to be blocked by a well-positioned Ivanovic, and, already in close proximity to the Serbian defender, elected to take a chunk out of the Chelsea man’s arm. Much later, Sturridge’s cross picked out the head of Suarez, who scored his 23rd Premier League goal of the season - and for the immediate aftermath Anfield was awash with celebration. But very soon the mood turned to introspection and a realisation that there was a very grave story that the club had to deal with. Brendan Rodgers said right away that he would have to look at the video of the incident, and once he had he described Suarez’s behaviour as “unacceptable” in a club statement rushed out on the evening of the game. The focus was most clearly on one man, when it could have been on others. Firstly, Rodgers himself: Why on earth had he not started with Sturridge? The former Chelsea man looked sensational when he came on. It took him just seven minutes to score Liverpool’s first equaliser and by then he had already hit the post and created a lovely chance for Steven Gerrard. Later, Sturridge also contributed a brilliant back-heel that led to a golden opportunity for Jonjo Shelvey. We might also have been talking about Sturridge, then. Such a misfit at Chelsea, his potential for his new club and country looks pretty decent right now, unlike Fernando Torres – who went the other way, from Liverpool to Chelsea, and once again looked so desperately mediocre. But we’re not talking about Rodgers, Sturridge or Torres. Instead, Luis Suarez is the only one people will be debating deep into the week. What on earth happens now?