Barcelona kicked off their Liga title defence in stunning fashion as Luis Suarez scored a hat-trick and Lionel Messi bagged two in a 6-2 win over Real Betis.

The impressive Arda Turan, who scored two goals in the Super Cup triumph one week previous, broke the deadlock after just six minutes.

However, the visitors grabbed an unlikely equaliser just 15 minutes later courtesy of an unstoppable Ruben Castro free-kick.

Normal service was resumed shortly after though as the league champions scored twice within five minutes to take a two-goal advantage into the half-time break.

First Messi scored a trademark goal from 20 yards and Suarez further extended the lead with an angled finish from just outside the penalty area.

Luis Enrique’s side continued to play at a high intensity and were rewarded with a fourth goal on 55 minutes when Suarez scored his second of the evening with a simple tap-in after a vintage team move.

The fifth goal of the game came just a minute later when Messi struck once again with a shot from just inside the penalty area.

Suarez completed his treble in spectacular fashion as his free-kick from around 20 yards curled into the top corner on 82 minutes.

Betis’ reaction was immediate as Castro breached Claudio Bravo’s goal two minutes later with another impressive goal to complete the scoring on a crazy evening at Camp Nou.