Goal : Barcelona have booked their place in the Club World Cup final courtesy of a straightforward 4-0 victory over Qatari side Al Sadd in Yokohama on Thursday.
In a fixture that proved to be nothing more than a procession for the reigning Uefa Champions League holders, two goals from Adriano in the first half sent Pep Guardiola’s men on the road to victory. Seydou Keita and Maxwell sealed the win in the second half, but the win was soured by David Villa’s injury, with the striker suffering a suspected broken tibia.
Despite a crowd pushing 70,000 inside the stadium, there was a subdued atmosphere cloaking the clash; Barca’s incessant and unrelenting possession football muted those in attendance, and with Al Sadd employing a rigid, deep-lying defensive formation, it became a case of what methods the Spanish side could use to break through.
Operating with Lionel Messi, David Villa and Pedro in attack, they built patiently but without real penetration until they were gifted the opening goal on 25 minutes.
Nadir Belhadj foolishly chose to pass the ball back to goalkeeper Mohamed Saqr from close proximity, and the custodian, caught in two minds as to whether to handle the ball, simply contrived to blast his clearance off the body of Adriano and into the net. It was the type of goal any team would be red-faced to concede, and Barcelona do not require offerings of such charity.