Barcelona have won the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup after defeating Argentine side River Plate 3-0 in Sunday’s final.
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This was the ideal way for Barca to end a stellar year in which they had already collected the Primera Division title, Champions League, Copa del Rey and UEFA Super Cup, with the only trophy they failed to win being the Spanish Super Cup.
The big news before kick-off was that Neymar and Messi were both back in the starting line-up after missing the semi-final win over Guangzhou Evergrande, the Brazilian recovering from a groin strain while the Argentinian had overcome abdominal pains.
“After a competition like this the majority of teams have a dip”, he said. But Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr. are most likely to be back for Barcelona, which makes the world’s best team an ever better world’s best team.
Suarez scored a semi-final hat-trick as Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao were brushed aside and – joined once more by his forward allies Lionel Messi and Neymar – the Uruguayan star netted a second-half brace.
However, the €80 million summer 2014 signing from Liverpool said the important thing was that the team were victorious: “We are very happy to win the trophy, which was why we came here”.
Neymar was the architect, dinking the ball to his team-mate who grabbed his fifth goal of the tournament with a brilliant header beyond the helpless Barovero.
“He and Neymar wanted to play the game at any cost, but we should also remember the sacrifice the entire group has made this year”.
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.
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River made the game hard for Barca in the first 30 minutes, playing with great intensity and organisation.
