Barca's outstanding attacking trio have now netted 100 goals between them this term and they are well on course to improve on last season's tally of 122 for the Catalan club
Barcelona's brilliant trident cannot stop scoring. Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar have now netted 100 goals between them for the Catalan club in 2015-16 and are well on course to improve on last season's tally of 122. The best are getting even better.
Neymar was missing through suspension as Barca beat Eibar 4-0 on Sunday, the Brazilian back in his homeland to celebrate his sister's birthday. But in his absence, Munir El Haddadi opened the scoring for the Blaugrana, before Messi netted twice and Suarez the fourth to bring up yet another milestone in a record 36th unbeaten game for Luis Enrique's side.
This time last season, Barca's MSN trio had scored 75 times and the three forwards would go on to convert 122 as the Catalans claimed a treble of Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League crowns.
Now, the three South Americans are in with a chance of leading Barca to an unprecedented second successive treble, while they are well on course to smash their tally in front of goal from the 2014-15 campaign.
Earlier this season, Luis Enrique was asked if Messi, Suarez and Neymar were the best front three the club had ever had and said: "They form the best trident in Barca's history and I would even dare to say the best in the history of football."
Messi dropped deep to spray passes all over the pitch early on against Eibar, but scored a memorable goal as he ran from midfield past several defenders and slotted a precise shot past goalkeeper Asier Riesgo and into the corner. It was a moment of magic that had many of the Basque side's supporters on their feet.
The Argentine attacker added another from the penalty spot as he dinked a spot-kick straight down the middle and Suarez scored with six minutes remaining with a goal so typical of him: a mixture of power, physique, strength and technique as he nutmegged a defender and shook off two more with his body before converting with a low angled finish.
That was the Uruguayan's 42nd goal of the season, while Messi now has 35 in 2015-16 (despite spending almost two months on the sidelines through October and November) and Neymar has netted 23.
FULL STORY | MSN reach 100 goals in Eibar win
Suarez sat out the first two months of last season due to his ban for biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup, but ended the campaign with 25 goals from his 43 appearances. This term, he has played two games fewer than that so far, yet he has scored 17 more already.
Messi, meanwhile, is making up for lost time. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has hit 22 already in 2016 and is scoring at virtually the same rate that saw him net a record 91 in 2012. Back then, he had 24 to his name at this stage.
In those days, however, Barca were much more reliant on one man to score the majority of their goals and that is not the case any more. Overall, Messi hit 58 in 57 appearances in 2014-15 and he should come close to that mark if he stays fit for the remainder of the current campaign. He may even beat it, while Neymar (despite a dip in form in recent weeks) could better his own tally of 39 from last season.
In total, Barca have 10 league games left, as well as the final of the Copa del Rey and up to six more matches in the Champions League, so with the way the trio - Messi and Suarez especially - are converting at the moment, they seem certain to set a new goals record in the weeks ahead.
"Today we played even better than we did against Rayo," Luis Enrique said in reference to Thursday's 5-1 win in the capital. "And I thought we were spectacular in that game."
"These players are so good that when they are at this level, it is very difficult to stop them."
That is true of the entire team right now, but especially of Messi, Suarez and Neymar. One hundred goals up and many more to come, the trio have also improved other areas of their game including key passes, dribbling and their link-up play.
So while it may have seemed impossible last season, MSN 2.0 is already an upgrade on last season's treble-winning version. And the bad news for everybody else is that they have the potential to be even better still.
- Goal