A goal from Lionel Messi and a double from Luis Suarez saw Barcelona beat River Plate 3-0 in Yokohama to win the FIFA Club World Cup and cap a triumphant 2015 for the Catalan club.
Messi opened the scoring 10 minutes before the end of a difficult first half for Barcelona, who were tested by River’s intensity, but the European champions struck again early in the second period through Suarez and the Uruguayan sealed their third world title by heading home a cross from Neymar.
Barcelona become the first team to win the trophy three times, surpassing the two titles won by Corinthians, while Messi, Andres Iniesta, Dani Alves, Sergio Busquets and Gerard Pique become the only players to collect three winners’ medals.
Capturing the Club World Cup caps a superb year for Suarez and Barcelona, who lifted five trophies in 2015, including the Spanish Primera Division, the Copa del Rey, the UEFA Super Cup and the Champions League.
But the striker urged his side to learn from the mistakes of last year’s world champions Real Madrid, who failed to collect any more trophies in 2015.
“After a competition like this there are always teams that drop off and enter into a bad run, so we must keep going,” Suarez told Telecinco.
“The most important thing was winning the trophy, which is what everyone wanted to do.
“You have to try and help with goals and I was able to do that this time so I’m also happy about that,” he said on his double, which makes him joint-top scorer in the history of the tournament along with Messi and Cesar Delgado.
And the Uruguayan had a special word for Neymar and Messi, who overcame a groin injury and abdominal pain respectively to play in the final after missing the semi-final against Guangzhou Evergrande.
“We have to highlight the sacrifice that Messi made in order to play today,” he said.
“He and Neymar wanted to play the game at any cost, but we should also remember the sacrifice the entire group has made this year. We are the best team in the world.”
