Luis Suarez Showed Against Real Betis He Can Propel Barcelona to Greater Heights

Nearly everything that can be said about Barcelona's front three has been said. But still, the feeling remains that Luis Suarez isn't quite given enough of the credit for what he has achieved.

Suarez has hit as many goals for Barcelona as Lionel Messi in the calendar year of 2015, which is a quite astonishing feat. Both players finish the year on 48, with Neymar notching 41.

And yet, on the Ballon d'Or podium, you will find Messi and Neymar, but no Suarez. He was not shortlisted. Instead, that accolade went to Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo.

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However, if you look at the La Liga top scorers chart, top of the list is Suarez, on 15 goals. Neymar and Ronaldo are behind on 14, while Messi does not feature at the top after his two-month absence with a knee injury.

Of course, football is not just about goals. Which is further evidence to suggest Suarez should be joining his team-mates in the top three.

It was Suarez's arrival in the summer of 2014 that helped Barcelona's offensive unit transform from something unpredictable and interesting to watch into utterly compelling viewing. Viewing which, regardless of your club affiliation, you should feel privileged to be able to watch.

The MSN had some teething problems at first, with Suarez only settling in properly when moved into the middle, with Messi taking up a new position on the right.

But they started to jell in January, and the rest is history. Whereas defences threw everything they had at Messi and Neymar and were sometimes able to stop them, since Suarez found his feet, Barcelona have overwhelmed nearly every team they have faced.

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The details are reflected in the statistics. Thanks to Suarez's first strike against Real Betis at Camp Nou on Wednesday night, Barcelona broke Real Madrid's record for goals scored in a year.

Madrid were on 178, but after Barcelona's 4-0 rout of the Andalusian side, they finished on 180. There can be no more doubt over whether this is the best forward line put together in the history of football. It is.

And although Messi and Neymar bring the flair, tricks and thrills, Suarez's tenacious work in the middle and eye for goal is what makes Barcelona's attack so brutal.

Just before the interval against Betis, he wasted a good chance, dummying Antonio Adan in the Betis goal but firing into the side-netting when he should have scored or crossed for Neymar at the far post.

He went into half-time fuming, came out the same and scored within a minute of the restart. Sergio Busquets won the ball high up the pitch and fed Suarez, who kept calm and steered the ball past Adan at his near post.

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A second goal followed late on, with Suarez reacting first to Neymar's flick, intentional or not, firing past the goalkeeper to finish what has been the best year of his career with a bang.

Suarez scored five of Barcelona's six goals at the Club World Cup, helping his side become world champions, and is still improving with every passing match at the club of his dreams.

In 2014-15, he managed to score 25 goals. Suarez's second against Real Betis puts him on 26 for 2015-16 already.

Barcelona won nearly every tournament they played in during this year, only failing in the Spanish Super Cup and ending up with five trophies, which they presented to their fans before the Betis clash.

With Suarez given something to prove by his exclusion from the Ballon d'Or shortlist, he is unlikely to be slowing down any time soon. And in turn, neither are they.