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  Sun, December 18, 2011


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Barca crushes Santos to win Club World Cup
By Sports Network


Lionel Messi of Spain's Barcelona celebrates after he scored their first goal against Brazil's Santos during their Club World Cup final soccer match in Yokohama, south of Tokyo December 18, 2011. (REUTERS/Toru Hanai)

YOKOHAMA, JAPAN - Lionel Messi scored twice to upstage Neymar as Barcelona crushed Santos, 4-0, on Sunday at Yokohama Stadium to capture its second FIFA Club World Cup in three years.

Messi, the two-time reigning world player of the year, opened the scoring just over 15 minutes into the match, and Xavi and Cesc Fabregas added goals before halftime as the Spanish champions made easy work of the Brazilian side.

Argentina international Messi added a second goal 8 minutes from time, as the European champions left Brazil without a title in the tournament since 2006.

Santos' 19-year-old Brazilian sensation Neymar was held scoreless in the game, but it was more a result of an overall dominant performance from Barcelona.

Qatari club Al-Sadd won the third-place match Sunday, defeating Japanese side Kashiwa Reysol 5-3 on penalty kicks following a 0-0 draw.

 










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