Barcelona 3-0 Guangzhou Evergrande: 5 Talking Points
European champions Barcelona comfortably saw off Asian champions Guangzhou Evergrande as aLuis Suarez hat-trick ensured a 3-0 victory and booked a place in the final against Argentinian giants River Plate this Sunday. Shorn of their two attacking stars Lionel Messi and Neymar, Les Cules initially struggled to break down a rigid Guangzhou backline as they lacked the precision in the final third and failed to create good chances.Suarez, who led the line in Messi and Neymars absence, finally broke the deadlock 10 minutes from half-time after latching on to a rebound, and doubled their advantage early post the break as he beautifully combined with Iniesta to slot into the top corner unmarked. The Uruguayan striker then killed the tie off from 12 yards after Munir El Haddadi was brought down inside the area and became the first player ever to net a treble in the competition.Here are some of the talking points from the game in Yokohama.
#1 Barcelona no match for Guangzhou
The game was a mere walk in the park for the European champions after a few hitches early on. The Southern China Tigers made life difficult for Barcelona during the initial stages of the game as some resolute defending and close man-marking kept Barca at arm’s length. The absence of Messi and Neymar seemed to have been felt when they lacked the fluidity in the attack, but the brilliance of Luis Suarez eventually proved conclusive.
Once the former Liverpool hitman broke the deadlock, Barcelona stamped their authority on the game. Holding a lion’s share of possession, the Catalan side attacked with vigour and Guangzhou spent most of the second half in the opposition half. Two more goals from Suarez and the game was all over.
The Chinese side were left gasping for even a sniff at the goal and hardly ever tested Barcelona’s backline. They were the second best team for a large swathe of the game, and no match for the giants from Europe.