Ex-Man City man 'never' got nervous facing Liverpool’s Luis Suarez

Former Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott claims he was never nervous facing Liverpool forward Luis Suarez.

Joleon Lescott had some interesting quotes this week as he talked to Football’s Greatest With Jeff Stelling. The former Manchester City and Everton defender talked about his greatest opponents - but there was a notable absence.

Luis Suarez didn't make the cut, despite arguably being the best striker to have graced the Premier League across Lescott's career. It turns out he simply wasn't that impressed by him, however.

“Nah, didn’t get the Luis Suarez…” he said, trailing off. “Like, as good as he is and as good as he’s been, I never got nervous playing against Luis Suarez.

“I think he was great for Liverpool, but I think he was greater for Barcelona,” he went on to say. “And I think that kind of gives him a bigger platform. Doing what he did for Barcelona was pretty impressive.”

How good was Luis Suarez for Liverpool?

Now, on the face of it, this is a terrible take. Suarez was sensational in the Premier League for Liverpool, equalling the 38-game scoring record despite missing the opening five games through suspension.

On top of that, Suarez added 12 assists - so that was a season of 33 games, 31 goals and 12 assists. Just unreal stuff.

Just numbers is doing him a disservice, though, as the moments Suarez produced were unbelievable at times. His 2013/14 season saw him produce his very own Goal of the Season competition.

In fact, one game against Norwich City saw him collect four goals that stood against anything.

But to Lescott's credit, Suarez never really shone against City. His Premier League record against them was six games, one goal, one assist, and so the defender arguably didn't see the best of Liverpool's Uruguayan star.

On the other hand, it's ridiculous to say what Suarez did at Barcelona was 'pretty impressive', given he won the European Golden Boot while up against peak Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo - the only player to do so.

As a former Everton and City player, though, perhaps Lescott has a little bias here. Make no mistake - Suarez was on another planet at Liverpool and we've seen very few on his level.