Barcelona's 6-2 win over Real Betis marked the beginning of a new season for the defending champions, but it was very much business as usual for Luis Suarez as he netted a fourth hat-trick in his last six LaLiga appearances, confirming his status as the most lethal striker in the game.
The Uruguay international was the difference for Barcelona at the end of last season, scoring 14 goals in five games to get the Blaugrana back on track after a number of difficult games just in time to seal the domestic title.
Suarez's hot streak started with four goals in the 8-0 win over Deportivo la Coruna on April 20, giving his side a 2-0 lead at half-time after being set up by Ivan Rakitic and Lionel Messi, respectively. He then teed up Rakitic for 3-0, before adding two more goals of his own to further extend Barca's lead.
7 - Luis Suárez has scored more hat-tricks than any other player in Europe's top five leagues since last season. Wild.August 20, 2016
Having enjoyed a four-goal haul against Deportivo, the former Liverpool man went on to repeat the trick in the 6-0 victory over Sporting Gijon just three days later. Lionel Messi drew first blood, but Suarez then completed a 14-minute hat-trick after the interval. Neymar made it five, with Suarez adding a fourth in the dying minutes of the encounter.
He then had to settle for just one goal against Betis and two versus Espanyol, only to end the season with yet another hat-trick at Granada, scoring all of his side's goals in a 3-0 win.
With the 2016-17 campaign now under way, Suarez has not wasted any time in firing a warning to LaLiga defenders that he remains in the same red-hot form.
The 29-year-old made it 3-1 shortly before the break against Betis after some good work from Sergi Roberto, before doubling his personal tally in the 56th minute and completing his seventh hat-trick since the start of the 2015-16 campaign eight minutes from time.
