TheSportsCampus

Barcelona's reign over football extended from the European realm to the rest of the world after they brushed aside Santos at the World Club Cup final in Yokohama. The game that was billed as tiki-taka vs jogo bonito, Messi vs Neymar ended up as an extremely one-sided affair as Barcelona overwhelmed their South American counterparts. The game was sealed in the first half as Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez and Cesc Fabregas found the back of the net to leave Barca 3-0 up before the break. Messi added a fourth late on to complete the rout as Barca claimed their 2nd World Club title.

Muricy Ramalho made just one change to the side that beat Kashiwa Reysol 3-1 in the semi-finals, with Leo coming in at left-back as former Manchester City midfielder Elano dropped to the bench. The deadly duo of Borges and Neymar formed the attacking pair up front. The midfield had Arouca and Henrique sitting in the centre while Paul Henrique Ganso and Danilo attacked from the wide positions. Bruno Rodrigo and Leo were given the responsibility of marshalling the wide areas while Edu Dracena and Druval covered central defence.

The Catalans had a strong line-up on show, with the imposing trio of Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets holding fort in the centre of the park. Lionel Messi was the main attacker, with Cesc Fabregas and Thiago playing supporting roles. Carle Puyol and Gerald Pique formed the central defensive partnership while Dani Alves and Eric Abidal bombed down the wings.

It was clear from the get-go that Barca weren't in a mood of generosity as they continually pounded the Santos goal. Unsurprisingly, it was Messi who got the first shot on goal, which was parried by Rafael straight into the path of Thiago, who unfortunately fluffed his lines. Pep Guardiola's promise of keeping Neymar detached from the game was coming true as the 19 year old was barely allowed a touch in the opening exchanges.

The Santos levee finally broke 16 minutes into the game as Messi chipped the ball over the keeper following a great interchange with Xavi and Fabregas. The Catalans were tearing the Brazilians apart at this point as Thiago came close following yet another run down the left. But the 2nd goal wasn't too far away, seven minutes away to be precise as Alves' cross found its way towards Xavi, who found the time & space inside the box to bring the ball under control and place it into the bottom corner.

Going 2-0 down seemed to have spurred the Copa Libertadores champions into action as they finally mustered an effort on goal as Borges found space behind Barca's backline before striking an effort goalwards, only for Victor Valdes to collect the ball close to his chest. Barca responded to that threat in the only way they knew, creating one of their own as Fabregas struck the post at the other end following yet another fluid move. Manager Ramalho was so concerned by Barca's dominance that he made a substitution as early as the 30th minute, bringing on Elano for Danilo. Despite Santos stemming the Barca flow to an extent, they were unable to stop a 3rd goal going in before the break as Fabregas put the ball into the back of the net on the stroke of half-time.

Barcelona were taking it slow after the break, stroking the ball around without any great urgency. The chances didn't stop though as Fabregas was denied by a fingertip save from Rafael while Messi and Alves also got into good positions. Santos were finally putting together a few passes and it coincided with them creating two openings, first with Borges making Valdes work before Neymar's reluctance to take a shot allowed Valdes to cover from a one-on-one situation. The game lost its rhythm following a series of poor challenges and a slew of yellow cards being brandished. It wasn't until the last ten minutes that Barca looked to back at their menacing best as first Alves struck the woodwork before Messi grabbed his 2nd of the day following yet another assist from Alves.

The game showcased the gulf between the best in South America and Europe's crème-de-la-crème. Santos were never in the game as Barca systematically pounded the Brazilians, who had no answer to Barcelona's quick passing. Messi has now scored in all six competitions he has been a part of this calendar year and as for Barcelona, they can return to Spain to focus their attentions on reigning in Real Madrid's lead atop La Liga.

Teams:

Santos: Rafael, Edu Dracena, Leo, Durval, Bruno Rodrigo, Danilo (Elano 30'), Arouca, Henrique, Ganso (Ibson 82'), Borges (Kardec 79'), Neymar.

Barcelona: Valdes, Dani Alves, Pique (Mascherano 60'), Puyol (Fontas 84'), Abidal, Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta, Messi, Fabregas, Thiago (Pedro 79').

Final Score: Santos 0–4 Barcelona (Messi 16', 82', Xavi 23', Fabregas 44')

File Photograph Copyright: Darz Mol