Messi, Suarez fire Barca to 3rd Club World Cup

YOKOHAMA — Lionel Messi marked his return from illness with a brilliant goal as Barcelona beat Argentina’s River Plate 3-0 to capture a record third Club World Cup Sunday. The Spanish giant welcomed back Messi after a bout of kidney stones and the mercurial Argentine scored with a clinical finish on 36 minutes, before a lethal Luis Suarez double destroyed River’s hopes. “We came here to win the title and it was important to get the job done,” said Suarez, who picked up the Player of the Tournament and Golden Boot award after finishing with five goals. 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. Suarez, who scored a hat trick in Barca’s 3-0 semifinal win over Guangzhou Evergrande, scored a second with a fierce low drive four minutes into the second half. The former Liverpool striker grabbed his second of the night when he dispatched a thumping header past Barovero after a pinpoint cross from Neymar. River Plate’s starting eleven cost a total of some six million dollars, while Barcelona paid $85 million for Suarez alone, and the gulf in class showed. The Catalans, who had already collected the Champions League, Spain’s La Liga, the Copa del Rey and European Super Cup this year, tore River to shreds in the second half. Neymar also came close to scoring with a curling effort that shaved the bar. Barcelona goalkeeper Claudio Bravo was a spectator for much of the game on a cold night but made an acrobatic save from 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. Hiroshima earns third place Brazilian substitute Douglas scored a late double as Japan’s Sanfrecce Hiroshima stunned Asian champion Guangzhou Evergrande 2-1 to finish third at the Club World Cup Sunday. Former Spurs midfielder Paulinho headed the Chinese in front after just four minutes in Yokohama, celebrating by racing to the bench to hold up the shirt of teammate Zou Zheng, who broke his leg in the 3-0 semifinal defeat by Barcelona. But Douglas stooped to nod home a deserved equaliser for the J-League title holders in the 70th minute after some poor defending. He then headed in the winner seven minutes from time to complete a dramatic turnaround. Luiz Felipe Scolari’s Evergrande had been overwhelming favorite to become the first Asian representatives to take third place at the tournament since South Korea’s Pohang Steelers in 2009. But it wilted badly after a strong start. Sanfrecce became the third Japanese team to win the third-place playoff after Urawa Reds in 2007 and Gamba Osaka in 2008. — AFP