Suarez treble fires Barcelona into Club World Cup final
Spanish giants overcome loss of Lionel Messi to outclass Guangzhou Evergrande 3-0 in semi-final
Luis Suarez fired a hat-trick as Barcelona overcame the loss of Lionel Messi to kidney problems by beating Guangzhou Evergrande 3-0 to reach the Club World Cup final on Thursday.
The Spanish giants will face Argentine side River Plate in Yokohama on Sunday as they look to become the first team to win the tournament three times.
Suarez was spectacular. He is very talented in difficult situations. We had some injuries to deal with so we had to adjust and he stepped up
The European champions were rocked before the semi-final when Messi was sidelined with renal colic – commonly caused by kidney stones – which could also rule him out of the final.
Initially Barca missed Messi’s wizardry and the guile of his Brazilian strike partner Neymar, who was rested as he recovers from a groin strain.
The Catalans toiled to break down Evergrande’s massed ranks of defenders, until Suarez pounced six minutes before half-time, poking in the loose ball after goalkeeper Li Shuai parried Ivan Rakitic’s fierce drive from the edge of the box.
Suarez completed his treble from the penalty spot in the 67th minute to record his 21st goal of the season for Barca, who previously won the Club World Cup in 2009 and 2011.