Barcelona's friendly against Mexican side Leon for the Joan Gamper Trophy marked the first appearances for Neymar and Luis Suarez — two players whose experiences at the 2014 World Cup were cut short for very different reasons. Neymar started and scored two cheeky goals in the 6-0 win for Barca, showing that his back is feeling better after the knee from Colombia's Camilo Zuniga fractured a vertebra and ruined everything for Brazil.
Suarez, meanwhile, was able to play after the Court of Arbitration for Sport amended his four-month ban from all football-related activity for biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini to allow him to train with his new club and play in non-competitive matches (friendlies like this). So Suarez was able to step on the Camp Nou pitch for the first time since his €94 million transfer from Liverpool just after the World Cup and play the final 15 minutes against Leon.
The man who matched the Premier League record with 31 goals last season and holds the world football record for most opponents bitten (three) didn't score for Barca, but he also didn't bite anyone either. Obviously this made his debut a resounding success and showed that he has definitely turned over a new leaf...until he bites again. Either that or the Leon players all wore garlic necklaces to keep him away.
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