Suárez scores a hat-trick, Barcelona advances to FIFA Club World Cup 2015 Final

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Friday, December 18, 2015

Yesterday, Catalonia-based football club FC Barcelona defeated Chinese Guangzhou Evergrande FC 3–0 at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama in a FIFA Club World Cup semifinal match hosted in Japan.

FIFA Club World Cup is a tournament in which football clubs winning in the respective continental confederation championships participate. Barcelona won the UEFA Champions League, and Guangzhou won the AFC Champions League. Barcelona's Neymar, suffering from groin injury, was not included in the squad.

File photo of Suárez, who scored the hat-trick
Image: Lluís.
We lost 3–0, but it's not much different to what has happened to other big clubs. At least we didn't let in four like Real Madrid

—Luiz Felipe Scolari, Guangzhou Manager

Barça had greater ball possession. The match saw one yellow card, when Feng Xiaoting was yellow carded in the 16th minute, and at least two dozen fouls were committed in the match. The 2015 AFC Champions League winners Guangzhou prevented the European winners from scoring a goal for more than half an hour. In the 39th minute, Ivan Rakitić's shot on the target was saved by the Chinese goalkeeper, but Luis Suárez netted the goal providing Barcelona a 1–0 lead before half-time. The first half ended in 1–0.

In the second half, Suárez scored again in the 50th minute, assisted by Andrés Iniesta. A quarter of an hour later, Guangzhou player Huang Bowen fouled Munir El Haddadi in the penalty area, and Barcelona was awarded a penalty kick. Suárez, in the absence of Lionel Messi, took the penalty and completed a hat-trick.

After the match, Guangzhou coach Luiz Felipe Scolari praised the club's performance. "We lost 3–0, but it's not much different to what has happened to other big clubs. At least we didn't let in four like Real Madrid."

Barcelona, is now scheduled to play the final on December 20.


December 17, 2015
19:30 JST (UTC+9)
FC Barcelona 3–0 Guangzhou Evergrande FC Nissan Stadium, Yokohama
Attendance: 63,870
Referee: Joel Aguilar, El Salvador
Scored after 39 minutes 39' Luis Suárez
Scored after 50 minutes 50' Luis Suárez
Scored after 67 minutes 67' (pen.) Luis Suárez
(1–0) HT Booked after 16 minutes 16' Feng Xiaoting

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