Spanish giants Barcelona have thrashed Real Betis 4-nil with the help of Luis Suarez to end 2015 as La Liga leaders.

The Catalans were awarded a penalty in the 29th minute when goalkeeper Antonio Adan collided with Argentine superstar Leonel Messi. Brazilian ace Neymar stepped up and fired the ball onto the crossbar but just as Betis thought they'd survived, Heiko Westermann ended up poking his attempted clearance into his own net to make it 1-nil for the hosts.

Messi then marked his 500th Barcelona appearance in the best way possible as he doubled the advantage for the Catalans from close-range.

1 minute after restart, Luis Suarez slid home Barca's third of the night on Wednesday.

The former Liverpool star then made it 4-nil, seven minutes from time to wrap up the win for the Catalan giants. With the crucial victory, the reigning champions moved back to the top of the table, equal on points with Atletico Madrid.