FC Barcelona 4 - 0 Santos FC. Post match review, goals and player ratings.

They have done it yet again. FC Barcelona have won their second Club World Cup and the third trophy of the 2011-2012 season, so far.

Barca have claimed their 2nd Club World Cup title in 3 years after handing Brazilian side Santos a humiliating 4-0 defeat. Complete match analysis, player ratings and goals to follow.

1st Half

Match kicks off with Valdes, Alves, Pique, Puyol, Abidal, Busquets, Xavi, Thiago, Cesc, Messi and Iniesta starting for Barca in the all familiar 4-3-3 formation. The trademark tiki-taka ensured that Santos’s main threat-givers Neymar, Ganso and Borges get very little glimpse of the ball.

An early Messi goal, with an excellentl back-heel-controlled pass by Xavi, put Barca ahead of Santos. But there was more to come. Barcelona continued their domination with a whooping 76% possession, and over 300 passes completed, with Santos managing only 130. The constant pressing by Barca paid off when a scuffle between Xavi and the defenders paved the way for the second goal of the match, by El Maestro Xavi himself.

Next up, Cesc, with a blast right into the back of the net. After 3 tries by Barca to get a goal, Cesc comes along and shoots it square. Best part? He dedicates the goal to injured striker David Villa who’ll undergo surgery on Monday.

2nd Half

Second half kicks off. Santos have more chances than the first half. A colossal miss by Neymar off a cross from Borges, is the closest they get at scoring. Barca continue the pressing game, with Thiago subbed out for Pedro, Mascherano for Pique and Fontas for El Capita Puyol. Iniesta continues his job of giving the Brazilian side’s defense a nightmare with his continuous screech-ins and break-throughs. Alves roamed the right wing like he roams his own lawn.

As it has been said before, “No final is complete without a Alves-Messi goal.” This was proved, yet again, with Alves providing an excellent assist to Messi who goes around the keeper and shoots to make the score 4-0.

• Player Ratings
• Goals

Valdes: 7

With nothing much to do in this game, except maybe a few mere saves, Valdes had a pretty silent match.

Alves: 8

Alves dominated the right flank and crucial passes and assists made sure he was never missing in action.

Pique: 7

Pique, just like Valdes and Abidal, too had a decently good game. He did not have much work unlike Carles Puyol, who had to forever mark Neymar.

Puyol: 8

Considering his age, he had a bomb of a game. Constant pressing and marking Neymar, he did his job with excellence.

Abidal: 7

Our King Abi was an Alves-esque in the left flank. A pretty good game and good movement of the ball.

Busquets: 6

Where was he? Unfortunately, considering his role as a defensive midfielder, Busi was not as omnipresent as Pep would have liked him to be. But for the little contributions, he gets the praises.

Xavi: 9

His best game this season, only second to the Clasico, El Maestro has showed the world yet again what class is and why he’s the best. A goal and an assist, hats off!

Thiago: 8.5

At 20 years of age, he sure as hell matched up to Xavi in the midfield. They paired up and completely dampened the unavailability of 2 core forwards.

Iniesta: 8

If Villa isn’t there to cover the wings, who better than Andres? In-out-in-out, excellent break-ins and harassing the Santos defense with his constant shots.

Messi: 9

After a 3 match goal-less drought, Messi(ah) is back with a bang. A brace, first of which scored with absolute class and excellency, and his passes, phenomenal.

Cesc: 9

An alien, watching football, would never even for a second imagine Fabregas has been away from Barca for 6 long years. His gelling and his harassment of the opposition defense is just ecstatic to watch.

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Mascherano: 6

Nothing much to do for good ‘ol Masch tonight. Just hold the attackers, he did it with his usual flair.

Pedro: 6

Pedrito came on for Thiago and went missing. Just a touch here and there. In the back of his mind, he knew we’ve already won.

Fontas: 5

Puyol out for Fontas. My question: WHY? Not one of my favorite substitutes.

Messi (1-0)

Xavi (2-0)

Cesc (3-0)

Messi (4-0)

With this win, Barcelona have clinched their 2nd Club World Cup in the history of the club. under Guardiola, they have won a total of 13 out of the 16 possible trophies. (2 Copa Del Rey and 1 Champions League missed out).