Barcelona down River Plate to secure Club World Cup

By Euronews

Published on 20/12/2015 - 20:34

Spanish giants Barcelona secured the Club World Cup for a third time with an emphatic 3-0 win over River Plate in the showpiece match in Japan

Spanish giants Barcelona secured the Club World Cup for a third time with an emphatic 3-0 win over River Plate in the showpiece match in Japan.

Lionel Messi opened the scoring against the club he had a trial with as a boy after cleverly flicking the ball past Marcelo Barovero in the 35th minute. Blaugrana coach Luis Enrique watched on as the Argentian striker volleyed home with his left foot after Neymar had headed the ball towards him.

Uruguay forward Luis Suarez doubled the Catalan’s lead early in the second half, latching on to a long pass from Sergio Busquets to score. The former Liverpool star struck again in the the 67th minute to make sure of the win, taking his tally in the tournament to five goals after his hat-trick in the semi-final.