Luis Suarez scored a hat-trick on the opening day of La Liga as champions Barcelona thrashed Real Betis.
Arda Turan opened the scoring for Barca from close range, before Ruben Castro levelled from a free-kick.
Lionel Messi slammed home an excellent 22-yard strike before Suarez swept home from the edge of the box.
Suarez scored the fourth, Messi drove home from distance and Suarez curled home a free-kick for his third, before Castro added a late consolation.
Uruguay striker Suarez, last season’s La Liga top scorer with 40 goals, has now scored 17 goals in his past six league games.
It was Barcelona’s third game of the season, having beaten Sevilla 2-0 and 3-0 in the two legs of the Spanish Super Cup.
After the match, Barca confirmed “the beginning of an agreement with Manchester City for Claudio Bravo”, the 33-year-old keeper who played against Gus Poyet’s Betis.
Real Madrid get their season under way at Real Sociedad on Sunday (19:15 BST), with Atletico Madrid hosting Alaves two hours later.
Suarez continues scarcely believable form
Suarez was absolutely integral to Barcelona winning the title last season, scoring 14 goals in their final five La Liga games – all wins – including a hat-trick on the final-day 3-0 victory against Granada.
Real Madrid would have been champions had Barca dropped points in any of those games.
And the former Liverpool striker started off this season’s league campaign in similar fashion, with three good finishes, including an excellent free-kick.
| Suarez’s past six La Liga games |
|---|
| 4 v Deportivo La Coruna (8-0) |
| 4 v Sporting Gijon (6-0) |
| 1 v Real Betis (2-0) |
| 2 v Espanyol (5-0) |
| 3 v Granada (3-0) |
| 3 v Real Betis (6-2) |
Turan making most of Neymar absence
While Suarez and Messi’s goalscoring heroics have come to be expected, Turan has been making the most of his opportunity to play up front with them.
With Neymar playing at the Olympics for Brazil, the former Atletico Madrid player has been in the front three this season.
The Turkey international, who was frequently a substitute or midfielder last season, was strongly linked with a move away in the summer, with reports Barca wanted to sell him.
But he stayed and has now scored three goals in his past two games, more than in his previous 27 matches for the club. He also had a goal rightly disallowed for offside.
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Source: BBC SPort