Luis Suarez Hat-Trick on His Barcelona Anniversary Shows He Can Keep Growing

CAMP NOU, Barcelona — Luis Suarez loves proving his doubters wrong. That's usually been the inspiration for many of his greatest feats, going out to show that he's right and you're wrong. And even if he's wrong, then he's at least better at football.

Think back to the 2014 World Cup, when he struck twice against England for Uruguay and then came out after the game to say it was revenge for the way he had been treated while with Liverpool, per John Cross of the Daily Mirror.

Let's stay with that summer for a while, because it proved to be extremely eventful.

Suarez went on to bite Giorgio Chiellini and received a four-month ban from football as well as a suspension from his national side, before sealing his dream transfer to Barcelona.

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He couldn't play for the Catalan club, thanks to his ban, until October 25—a clash with Real Madrid. He was thrown into the heat of battle by Luis Enrique, and he rewarded his manager with a good performance and an assist for Neymar, even though his side lost the game 3-1.

Against Eibar on Sunday night, Suarez was celebrating the one-year anniversary of his debut, and he did it in style.

The side from the Basque country were tough, durable opponents, but a clinically taken hat-trick from Suarez was enough for Barcelona to win the game, 3-1.

A treble for Suarez, to go with the actual treble he and Barcelona won last season.

Many felt that, last term, he was powered on by the World Cup biting debacle and the criticism he received during the first few weeks of his season, when he struggled out on the right.

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Suarez underwent a minor goal drought, and some started doubting whether Barcelona had spent their money on the right man.

But as ever, he bounced back and became an integral part of Barcelona's attack, along with Lionel Messi and Neymar, helping the trident rack up a quite incredible 120 goals between them.

He notched both goals against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in the Champions League—another one in the eye of his English detractors—and struck the winning goal in the Camp Nou league Clasico.

In the later parts of the season, nothing came Suarez's way but praise and accolades. Love from the supporters, from his team-mates. How would the South American react?

Fuelled by hate, rage, and a thirst for trophies that hadn't yet been quenched, Suarez helped lead Barcelona to the treble. So now, with nothing but unconditional support coming his way and no trouble on the horizon, many wondered if he could continue to play at the same level.

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But Suarez showed, one year after he played his first game for Barcelona, that not only has he improved a lot, he's also still got more room to grow.

After his hat-trick against Eibar, Suarez moved into position as the club's top scorer. With Messi out of action thanks to a knee injury, he is bearing the not-inconsiderable weight of the Argentinian's absence.

Of course, Neymar is helping, too. He laid on two of Suarez's goals against Eibar, returning the favour for many that Suarez has helped him out with during the past year.

In an interview with Ivan San Antonio of Sport, Suarez insisted that despite having won it all last season, he and Barcelona want more.

"This year, after the treble, we were very demanding [about our objectives]. It's normal, because we always want more, but to win you have to overcome many hurdles," he explained.

And after the win over Eibar, Suarez said, per Sport, it was "special" to score a hat-trick on his one-year anniversary.

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The finishes for his goals were perfect, too, powering a header home which left Eibar goalkeeper Asier Riesgo with no chance, and carefully slotting home after Neymar found him in the box.

However, the pick of the bunch was the third, with Neymar's cute pass brought down perfectly on his chest, before he turned and thundered it into the bottom-left corner.

He won Barcelona this game, just as his goals earned victory in the game Messi went off injured in, against Las Palmas.

Suarez now has 23 La Liga goals since signing for Barcelona and nobody apart from Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Antoine Griezmann has more than him since then.

It shows you the level he is operating at, particularly when you consider how he struggled to find his form during the early months in the Catalan capital.

When Messi comes back, the productivity of the front-line will increase, too, and Suarez, who has been building up speed since joining the club, shows no signs of slowing down.