Arda Turan hat-trick and Lionel Messi opener help Luis Enrique’s side thrash German visitors

Arda Turan go to the top of the class.

Barcelona’s midfielder has been a naughty boy of late but his hat-trick in the 4-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach reminded everyone why Barcelona paid £24million pounds for him at the start of last season.

Turan was singled out after his silly late foul ended up costing his team three points in the Clasico at the weekend, and there are suggestions that he has started recent games on the bench because when the team went out to celebrate Luis Suarez’s Golden Boot award, he ended partying a little longer than everyone else.

But the unruly behaviour was forgotten at the Nou Camp on Tuesday night as playing in a front three with Lionel Messi, who also scored, he delivered his finest performance in a Barca shirt yet.

Messi got Barca’s first goal on 15 minutes and it was Turan who made it with a perfectly-weighted pass. The pair played a one-two down the left and Messi converted his 10th goal in the group phase of this Champions League.

Barca were pressing their German opponents and offering themselves to each other with an urgency and freshness that has been missing of late and was certainly absent for most of Saturday’s Clasico.

Andres Iniesta, making his first start for six weeks, was at the heart of everything making 105 passes; Gladbach, as a team, only made 163 in the first period.

On 50 minutes, Barcelona doubled their lead with the impressive Denis Suarez crossing and Turan heading home.

Then Turan swept in an Aleix Vidal pass after the full back, also making a rare start, crossed from the right.

Iniesta went off on the hour to a standing ovation, but only after teeing up Paco Alcacer, who shot straight at Yann Sommer, and such was Barcelona’s supremacy they coped just fine without their talisman.

The Germans had offered very little and their night was summed up when substitute Christoph Kramer chased an overhit free-kick and ended sliding off the pitch with a two-footed tackle on a cameraman.

Turan completed his hat-trick from an Alcacer cross after he had been put in behind by substitute Rafinha.

And Luis Enrique was able to put Marc Cardona on for Turan with 15 minutes left. The 21-year-old striker looked lively on his Champions League debut.

But it was Turan’s night. He now has eight goals for the season in all competitions; only Messi and Luis Suarez, who was rested as an unused substitute, have more.

He is out of Luis Enrique’s bad books and Barca have shaken off the post-Clasico blues.