Santos 0-4 Barcelona: Pep Guardiola's men crowned world champions after goals from Messi, Xavi and Cesc clinch comprehensive triumph

An imperious Barcelona were crowned Club World Cup champions in style in Yokohama, adding the world title to their Spanish and European honours as they cruised to a 4-0 victory over Santos.

Lionel Messi opened the scoring for the Catalans, before Xavi and Cesc Fabregas added their names to the score sheet in a completely one-sided first half. Santos showed more after the break, but never looked likely to make their way back into a game they surrendered in the first 45 minutes. Messi put the icing on the cake with a late strike, to put the result beyond any doubt.

The opening exchanges of the match passed in a predictable fashion. Santos started with a five man defence and the intention of not conceding an early goal, and their deep back line allowed Barcelona to dominate possession. The Brazilians looked strong, however, and Barca were allowed limited glimpses of goalkeeper Rafael in the first 15 minutes.

The shot-stopper showed his talents though with an impressive double save. Lionel Messi was the first to unlock the Santos defence with a typical mazy run, and his long-range shot was parried by Rafael who was quickly up to deny Thiago with the rebound. Ganso, meanwhile, had an early effort for the Peixe, but his left-foot effort from outside the box fizzed wide of Victor Valdes' left post.

It was to be the Catalans who took the lead, however, as Messi once more showed why he is considered the best player on the planet. The Argentine picked up a wonderful ball from Xavi and delicately flicked the ball over Rafael's head, and Bruno Rodrigo's despairing dive could not deny a beautifully worked opener for the Blaugrana.

After just 22 minutes, the score was 2-0. Santos failed to cut out a cross-field ball, and Xavi found it all too easy to storm through the middle and slide the ball past the keeper. Borges then called Valdes into action with a decent effort on the right, but it could so easily have been three within the first half-hour if Fabregas' close-range shot had not found the post.

Minutes before the half-time break, Barcelona gave another demonstration of their complete control. Dani Alves' cross was palmed by Rafael and the ball pinged across the box, before Fabregas stepped up to fire home and notch the side's third of a one-sided 45 minutes.

The second period was not even one minute old before Barca threatened a fourth. An awful mistake by Edu Dracena led to Messi charging into the area, and the Argentine laid off to Fabregas who was denied by a fingertip save from Rafael. Neymar then showed the first signs of attacking danger; a header floated over the crossbar, before a decent run ended in his shot being saved by the impeccable Valdes.

Santos showed more in the second half, taking advantage of an opponent who had slowed down from an impressive showing early on to enjoy a little more possession. An intricate exchange between Neymar and Ganso was a highlight for the Brazilians, but there was no sign that Barca's imposing three goal lead was in danger as they cruised towards the Club World Cup title.

There was to be a final flourish for Barcelona. Messi was played in by Dani Alves free on the edge of the box, and the Ballon D'Or winner skipped past Rafael to slide the ball home and extend the scoreline to 4-0 with less than 10 minutes remaining.

Josep Guardiola's side lift their second Club World Cup title, after the 2009 triumph over Argentine side Estudiantes. They also secured a quintuple for 2011, adding the trophy to Champions League, La Liga, European Super Cup and Supercopa triumphs over the course of the year.

Al Sadd 0-4 Barcelona: European champions set up Santos date in Club World Cup final but lose David Villa to broken leg

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.

Indeed, it was to be the Brazilian full-back's day, as it was he who made it two just before the interval. More slack play from the Mohamed - Belhadj combination saw the latter switch off and allow Thiago to steal the ball from his path. The young midfielder found the run of Adriano infield and he lashed a low shot into the corner, with the goalkeeper again failing to cover himself in any kind of glory.

Then, the one negative from the contest reared its head, as Villa raced onto a through ball and appeared to catch his studs on the turf. He immediately signalled his distress to the bench, and the injury has since been confirmed as a broken tibia, which is a blow not only for club and player, but for the Spain national team, with Euro 2012 just six months away.

The second half continued in precisely the same vein as the first; Barca sprayed the ball around the field, while Al Sadd chased in vain, and it wasn't long before their goal was breached once more.

On 64 minutes, Keita breezed through a gap to meet Messi's glorious through pass and slip his shot past the despairing leg of Mohamed to make it 3-0.

Then Maxwell, who arrived as a substitute, took advantage of non-existent defending from the generous Qataris to lash a shot from an angle that the hapless Mohamed did his level best to allow into the net.

The Catalan giants settled for the win at that point, and can now look forward to sterner opposition on Sunday in the form of Santos and their coveted star Neymar.

Real Madrid 1-3 Barcelona: Sanchez, Cesc and a Marcelo own goal send champions top of La Liga after slick Bernabeu performance

Barcelona were the comeback kings at the Santiago Bernabeu as the champions recovered from conceding within the first minute to defeat bitter rivals Real Madrid 3-1 in the seventh and final Clasico of 2011.

Jose Mourinho's men took the lead after only 22 seconds when Karim Benzema grabbed the quickest goal in Clasico history. The home side were pegged back on the half hour mark when Alexis Sanchez grabbed an equaliser in his first league appearance against Madrid.

A Xavi volley took a fortuitous deflection off Marcelo to give the visitors the lead, before Cesc Fabregas' header finished off a wonderful team move in the 66th minute in what proved to be the fixture's final strike.

The victory sends Barcelona level on points with Jose Mourinho's men and to the top of the Liga table due to their superior head-to-head record against Madrid, who have a game in hand.

In one of the most astonishing starts in the history of the Clasico, Real Madrid were a goal to the good within 22 seconds. Victor Valdes' poor clearance fell to the feet of Angel Di Maria who drilled the ball into the penalty area only for Sergio Busquets to block its progress. Mesut Ozil's attempted volley deflected off Busquets into the path of Benzema to fire home six yards from goal.

Madrid were left to rue opportunities to double their lead when Barcelona drew level on the half hour mark with Messi on hand to turn provider. The 24-year-old bypassed several challenges before sliding a weighted through ball to Alexis Sanchez, who calmly slotted past Casillas from the edge of the area to bring his side back into the game and all square at the break.

After a edgy opening to the second period, Barcelona were handed the lead thanks to a large slice of fortune on 53 minutes. Xavi's speculative volley 25 yards from goal took a massive deflection off Marcelo, fooling a wrong-footed Casillas with the ball spinning off the post and into the back of the net.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who had in the first half skewed a shot wide of the target when Di Maria was perhaps better placed to his right, then squandered a golden opportunity to level the contest. Xabi Alonso's cross found the Portuguese completely unmarked inside the area, but his header drifted wide of the post.

Madrid were made to pay, as Barca extended their lead in the 66th minute after a breathtaking counterattacking move. Messi slid the ball out to the right for Dani Alves to whip a beautiful cross towards the back post where an unmarked Cesc Fabregas was on cue to coolly head the ball into the far corner in what was to be the final goal of a pulsating encounter.

Next up for Real Madrid is a trip to Ponferradina on Tuesday as they look to defend their Copa del Rey title. Barcelona now head to Japan where they will feature in the Club World Cup. Their first task will be a semi-final meeting against either Esperance or Al Sadd on Thursday.

Barcelona 4-0 BATE Borisov: La Masia starlets shine as European champions end Group H campaign unbeaten

Goals from from Sergi Roberto, Martin Montoya, and a Pedro double helped a youthful Barcelona comfortably dispatch BATE Borisov 4-0 on Tuesday evening to conclude Champions League Group H.

The Catalan side had already qualified as group winners, and so opted to field a team with an average age of just 23, but the class of the European champions shone through as they dominated possession and created several chances to enjoy an even more convincing win.

Pep Guardiola's outfit got into their passing rhythm quickly, and almost made the perfect start when Champions League debutant Rafinha drove into the BATE box from the right and smashed a shot at Alyaksandr Gutar's near post but, the keeper palmed the ball to safety.

The locals continued to probe forward, and came extremely close to gaining an advantage just after the half hour mark. Isaac Cuenca drifted in from the right wing, which freed up room on the flank for Martin Montoya to receive a pass from his team-mate and cross to the back post for Sergi Roberto. However, the Spain Under-21 international could only manage to slide the ball wide despite having a largely empty net in which to aim.

Barcelona broke the deadlock a minute later, however. Thiago drifted into a pocket of space in front of the BATE penalty area and found the feet of Pedro just inside the box, who slid a pass into the centre for Sergi Roberto, and the 19-year-old made up for his earlier miss by coolly slotting the ball in the bottom right corner.

The hosts continued their dominance of the possession in the second period, and managed to double their tally on the hour mark with another well-taken goal. Cuenca was involved again as he drove towards the BATE defence from a central position and threaded a pass through to Montoya who made up considerable ground to drive into the box and drive the ball into the top left corner.

The game was done and dusted just two minutes later when Barcelona extended their lead to three goals. Cuenca earned another assist by gaining half a yard on Yurevich on the right and sliding a pass into the edge of the six yard box, and Pedro was on hand to masterfully flick the ball past Gutor with his heel at the near post.

Further misery was heaped on BATE Borisov three minutes before the final whistle. Volodko brought down Cuenca in the box, and Pedro stepped up to expertly dispatch the penalty for his second goal, and Barca's fourth.

Barcelona comfortably remain top of group H on 16 points, having already secured qualification prior to this match. BATE Borisov are out of European competition and find themselves in fourth place with two points from six matches.

Barcelona 5-0 Levante: Fabregas, Cuenca, Messi & Sanchez all on target as Pep Guardiola's men keep pressure on Real Madrid ahead of Clasico

Barcelona were convincing victors as they thumped Levante 5-0 at Camp Nou in La Liga to keep the pressure on Real Madrid at the top of the table ahead of next weekend's Clasico.

Cesc Fabregas grabbed a brace before Isaac Cuenca gave the home team a 3-0 lead at the break. Lionel Messi and Alexis Sanchez completed the rout in the second half.

The result leaves Pep Guardiola's men three points behind Madrid, who have a game in hand over their fierce Catalan rivals, while Levante remain in fourth spot.

Barcelona started the game brightly and were a goal to the good after only four minutes. Messi found Andres Iniesta, who saw his quick-thinking back-heel trickle to the feet of Cesc Fabregas on the edge of the Levante penalty area. The former Arsenal man controlled the ball before carefully placing it into the bottom corner of the net.

In the 20th minute the Catalan club could have doubled their lead but Gustavo Munua was on cue to deny the home side as he parried Messi's free-kick from 20 metres. From the rebound, Carles Puyol could not make clean contact from close range, with Munua eventually claiming the ball cleanly.

The lead was doubled in the 33rd minute and it was Cesc again who got the better of Munua. Xavi whipped an inviting free-kick into the box and Fabregas leaped highest to power his header into the top corner, leaving the keeper helpless as Barcelona grabbed a rare goal from a set-piece.

Guardiola's men were three up in the 37th minute with a wonderful team goal that was coolly finished by youngster Isaac Cuenca, who registered his second Barcelona goal. Messi's clever run saw the Argentine slide the ball to Iniesta, who then quickly moved it to Cuenca just inside the box for the winger to strike into the bottom - an instinctive finish from the Masia youth product to give his team a comfortable lead at the interval.

Barcelona were 4-0 up in the 55th minute when Messi grabbed his 17th Liga goal of the season to draw level with Cristiano Ronaldo. Substitute Dani Alves slid a precise through ball to the 24-year-old, who made no mistake in slamming his shot into the bottom corner of the net.

In the 61st minute, the home side made it five with a devastating counter-attack. Messi found Alexis Sanchez just inside the box in a yard of space. The Chilean attacker controlled the ball before lifting it over Munua via a slight deflection off Asier Del Horno for his third goal in a week.

Iniesta had a sixth goal controversially chalked off for offside in the 88th minute as the Blaugrana comfortably kept another clean sheet this season.

Barcelona are next in action on Tuesday evening when they face BATE Borisov in the Champions League at Camp Nou before travelling to the Santiago Bernabeu on December 10 to face Madrid.

Preparation against Levante at the Camp Nou

After beating Rayo Vallecano last Tuesday, Guardiola with the players now preparing tocompete against Levante who will travel to Camp Nou.
Barca now had the opportunity to try out the performance of Levante which was surprisingbecause of Primera league capable of defeating Real Madrid dikandangnya and managed to occupy top spot in the Jornada Jornada early-season 2011-2012.
All the players on the team, except for Adriano who has started training back injury sinceWednesday morning plus three players from Barça B are called, namely Cuenca, MartinMontoya and Ruben Mino.
Thursday's holiday Guardiola gave to all the players and the exercise took place on Fridaymorning in court number one Ciutat Esportiva and final session is on Saturday afternoon.