They were on their way to a fifth successive win in all competitions in the 13th minute when Griezmann fired low past goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic.

Suarez had an effort ruled out for offside after the break before Argentine Messi slotted in the second.

Messi then provided a square ball to Suarez who tapped in the third.

It was a unselfish gesture from the 32-year-old forward having forsaken an almost certain 17th league goal in 10 games against these opponents.

The champions' second-half dominance was in great contrast to the opening period when they repeatedly failed to stop Eibar getting behind them on the wings.

However, the only occasion Marc-Andre ter Stegen's goal was threatened was when Pedro Leon swept a 15-yard shot over the bar.

Moments after that miss France World Cup winner Griezmann gave Barca the lead when his shot went in off the post.

The visitors went up the gears after the break. Suarez had a goal disallowed before Messi finished off a move in the area involving his Uruguayan strike partner and Griezmann.

The trio combined again for the third when summer signing Griezmann put Messi through, who laid a gift of a pass to Suarez.

There was one sour note for Barcelona, who lost Sergi Roberto to a knee injury at half-time. It was later revealed that the 27-year-old Spanish full-back suffered ligament damage.

Roberto has strained the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his left knee and he was having tests to determine the severity of the problem. His presence in future training sessions will depend on how the injury develops.

He started today's 3-0 win at Ribar but was replaced after the break by Nélson Semedo. He has played 10 games this season, eight in the league and two in the Champions League.

Barca's victory comes a day after next weekend's scheduled El Clasico home match against Real Madrid was postponed because of fears of civil unrest.

The city of Barcelona has experienced days of protest after nine Catalan separatist leaders were jailed on Monday. The team had travelled to the Basque region on Thursday to avoid the general strike in Catalonia on Friday,

Rivals Real can retake the lead from Barcelona if they win at Mallorca later on Saturday (20:00 BST).