The three Barcelona forwards managed six strikes between them against Celtic on Tuesday and are aiming to better their total from last season in 2016-17
Luis Enrique has described them as the best attacking trident in the history of football. Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez have excelled at Barcelona and in this, their third season together, they are looking to beat the 131 goals they scored last term. So far, so good.
Neymar arrived at the Catalan club in 2013 and played with Messi for one season before Barca signed Suarez a year later and it was then, under Luis Enrique, that the Brazilian exploded following a complicated campaign in 2013-14.
Out for the first two months of his first season due to the four-month ban he received for biting Giogio Chiellini at the World Cup, Suarez finally linked up with his fellow South American forwards in late October 2014. And the three never looked back, hitting a combined 122 goals as Barca claimed the treble of Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League titles in 2014-15.
Those 122 came as Messi managed 58, Neymar netted 39 and Suarez scored 25 in a combined 151 apparances. And in their second season together, the numbers were even better as the Uruguayan claimed an amazing 59, the Argentine added 41 and the Brazilian bagged 31. Again, those arrived in a total of 151 matches between the three as Barca won a Liga and Copa double but missed out on the Champions League.
This season started without Neymar as the Brazilian was away at the Olympic Games in Rio, but the three players were reunited in the 2-1 loss to Alaves on Saturday (as Messi and Suarez began on the bench) and all featured from the outset as Barca battered Celtic in a 7-0 thrashing on Tuesday night at Camp Nou.
Messi hit a hat-trick in that match, while Suarez scored two and Neymar added another with a fantastic free-kick. Meanwhile, the Brazilian bagged four assists, the Uruguayan one and the Argentine another. Andres Iniesta netted the other goal with a fine volley.
In total, Messi now has six strikes this season, as does Suarez, with Neymar on one. In a combined 13 games, 13 goals for the MSN - a ratio superior so far to the one they achieved in their previous two seasons. In fact, the trident had never started a season so spectacularly and even though it is early days, they will looking to beat their total of 131 goals from last term.
"The secret is to surpass yourself every day," Neymar said at an event on Thursday. "I like to surpass myself in everything I do. That is life: improving in any way we can - every match, every training session. I hope we can beat the 131 goals from last season."
And he added: "Playing with Messi is really easy. We understand each other really well and also with Suarez. We always try and help each other so that things work out - and I hope the trident can keep helping the team with goals and assists."
At the moment, it seems likely that they will and if the three can go on to beat their best mark of 131 by the end of the season, that will surely mean more trophies for Barcelona. There is a long way to go, but early signs suggest this could be their best season yet.
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