YOKOHAMA, JAPAN // Lionel Messi broke the deadlock and Luis Suarez scored twice in the second half to give Barcelona a typically emphatic 3-0 win over River Plate in the Club World Cup final on Sunday.
South American champions River, whose side cost only around €5 million (Dh19.9m) in transfer fees, did enough to worry the European champions for the first half hour but were never in the contest after falling behind.
Messi, playing against an Argentine team for only the second time in his career, showed superb control to turn in Neymar’s header after 36 minutes.
Uruguay forward Suarez burst clear of the River defence four minutes after half time and headed another from a pinpoint Neymar cross to take his tally in the tournament to five goals.
“We came here to win the title and it was important to get the job done,” Suarez said. “We stayed calm and played our game until Leo scored the first goal. More than my goals, it was just important to get our hands on the trophy.”
Neymar, himself returning to the side after a groin strain, was instrumental in Barcelona’s opener, climbing to knock down a Dani Alves cross for Messi to steer past River goalkeeper Marcelo Barovero with a deft flick of his left boot.
In pictures:
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez lead Barcelona to Club World Cup title – in pictures
Suarez, who scored a hat-trick in Barca’s 3-0 semi-final win over Guangzhou Evergrande, scored a second with a fierce low drive four minutes into the second half.
The former Liverpool striker grabbed his fifth goal in Japan when he guided a thumping header past a beleaguered Barovero after a pinpoint cross from Neymar.
Barca goalkeeper Claudio Bravo was a spectator for much of the game on a cold night. But the Chilean made an acrobatic save from a shot by River substitute Gonzalo Martinez seven minutes from time to deny the South Americans a consolation goal.
Messi, who forced a smart save from Barovero in the early skirmishes and could himself have finished with a hat-trick, became the first player to score in three finals after leading Barca to victory in 2009 and 2011.
“Messi and Neymar wanted to play in the final, no matter what,” said Suarez. “It shows the sacrifice that there is in the group that they did everything to play.”
Barcelona added the world title to a host of other titles they have collected this year: the Uefa Champions League, Spain’s La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the European Super Cup.
River, backed by 15,000 fanatical supporters, made a promising start with Rodrigo Mora and Lucas Alario both getting into good shooting positions but producing weak efforts which were easily saved by Bravo.
The European champions, fielding six South American players in their starting line-up, sliced through the River defence and looked as if they could score with almost every attack as they went on to win the title for the third time.
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