The visitors had goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz sent off early on for bringing down the Uruguay forward, with Lionel Messi converting the penalty.

Neymar chipped a second before half-time, with Suarez and Ivan Rakitic making it 4-0 after the break.

Suarez slotted in Arda Turan's pass, then headed the sixth to leave Barca two points behind Atletico Madrid.

Barcelona's bid to retain their La Liga title stumbled during December and early January with a run of three draws in four matches either side of the Christmas break.

With leaders Atletico Madrid securing a fourth successive victory by beating Las Palmas 3-0 earlier on Sunday, Luis Enrique's side knew at kick-off that they could not regain top spot - and so it was all about a statement of intent.

Their job was made significantly easier by the horrendous defensive mix-up that allowed Suarez to nip in behind centre-back Xabier Etxeita and win the penalty that Messi converted.

Barcelona, though, took advantage of that early break to swat Athletic aside with some sumptuous football.

Messi, named the Ballon d'Or winner on Monday, only played for the first 45 minutes before being substituted amid concerns that he had suffered a minor muscle strain.

Suarez grabbed the opportunity to take centre stage, and become the leading scorer in Europe's top five leagues, with 29 goals in 29 games in all competitions this season - but he also got a whack in the face for his troubles.

Television pictures showed Etxeita glancing over towards Suarez before catching him with a forearm, well away from the ball. The defender may face retrospective action.

The competition for the Pichichi - the Spanish golden boot - intensified on Sunday, with all four of the leading contenders scoring.

After Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema had both taken their La Liga season totals to 16 by scoring twice each in Real Madrid's 5-1 win over Sporting Gijon, the pressure was on Neymar and Suarez to keep pace.

Both players responded positively, with Suarez providing three excellent second-half finishes to move to the top of the league goal charts on 18.

Suarez capitalised on Etxeita's hesitation to win the penalty from which Messi gave Barca the lead, before playing in Neymar to score his 16th La Liga goal of the season with a perfectly judged chip.

The Brazil forward returned the compliment by playing Suarez through to slide in a third goal early in the second half, and then showed wonderful footwork as he darted to the byeline and provided a low cut-back for Rakitic to make it four.

Suarez added a fifth with a stylish finish, controlling Arda's diagonal pass before nudging a shot beyond the goalkeeper, and secured the match ball with a header from Sergio Busquets' cross.

(BBC)