Barca kick off La Liga defence with 6-2 rout of Real Betis

Luis Suarez scored a hat-trick and Lionel Messi netted a brace as Barcelona kicked off their La Liga defence with a 6-2 rout of Real Betis at Camp Nou, Spain.

Arda Turan, who scored a double against Sevilla to help Barca win the Spanish Super Cup on Wednesday, continued his superb form as the Turkish international put the hosts ahead in the sixth minute before Ruben Castro restored parity in the 21st minute.

Messi doubled the lead with a 37th-minute goal before Suarez made it 3-1 before half time, the Guardian reported.

The Argentine talisman subsequently set up Suarez for his second goal in the 56th minute before Messi scored again with a left-foot drive from outside the area.

Suarez completed his hat-trick with a 25-metre free-kick eight minutes from time. Although Castro pulled one more back for Betis two minutes later, the gap was too much to match for the tourists.

Barcelona were playing without several injured players including their captain, Andres Iniesta, and Neymar, who is currently playing for Brazil at the Rio Olympics.