Brilliant Barcelona on top of the world

Barcelona have added the Club World Cup to their bulging trophy cabinet after brushing aside Santos 4-0 in Yokohama on Sunday.

In a match Barcelona had wrapped up by half-time, Brazilian side Santos could do little to stop the onslaught with the Catalan giants in irrepressible form.

Lionel Messi bagged a brace with two crafty finishes while Xavi and Cesc Fabregas added the other goals in the rout. Barcelona led 3-0 at half-time.

Brazil wunderkind Neymar, a reported target of Barcelona, was looking to unlock the defence with his mazy runs early on but often ran into a cul-de-sac.

Santos created little of note in the first half save for Neymar’s free kick, which he rolled to Ganso who blasted wide.

After dominating the early exchanges, Messi – regarded as the best player in the world – was on hand to score the opener in the 16th minute with a delicate chip after some neat build-up play.

Xavi’s outrageous knockdown with his heel and subsequent pass found Messi who lobbed stranded keeper Rafael.

Barcelona were at their flowing best in the first half and Santos’ ragged defence could do little but watch at times.

The La Liga champions produced another glorious goal after an extended period of keepings off. The returning Dani Alves crossed for Xavi, who skipped his marker with a shimmy, and fired low past the keeper to make it 2-0 on 23 minutes.

Barcelona continued to mesmerize Santos with their sweeping passing moves as the half drew to close and added a third just a minute before the break.

Messi’s cheeky back heel found Andreas Iniesta whose cross was blocked, only for Fabregas to bob up and finish off the move with the simplest of finishes.

After the break, Neymar took advantage of confusion in Barca’s defence after Javier Mascherano had replaced Gerard Pique but could not beat Victor Valdes with his shot.

Alves created the fourth goal playing virtually as a right forward. He squared for Messi whose slightly loose touch mattered little as he skipped over the keeper to roll the ball into an empty net.

The victory was Pep Guardiola’s side’s second Club World Cup title, after the 2009 triumph over Argentine side Estudiantes.

They also secured a quadruple for 2011, adding the trophy to Champions League, La Liga and Supercopa triumphs over the course of the year.

Meanwhile, Asian champions Al Sadd held off Japanese champions Kashiwa Reysol, winning 5-3 on penalties to claim the third-place playoff.

The match was a culmination of two similarly improbable seasons for both sides following Al Sadd’s shock Asian Champions League victory and Reysol’s stunning J.League triumph.

After a 0-0 draw in regular time, in which Kashiwa created far more chances, the Japanese side fell short in the shootout.

Ryohei Hayashi, who converted Kashiwa’s match-winning penalty kick against Monterrey, was blocked by the impressive Mohamed Saqr, who was the hero in Al Sadd’s ACL shootout win.

Al Sadd’s Nadir Belhadj converted the winning penalty.