Barcelona vs. Guangzhou Evergrande: Score, Reaction from 2015 Club World Cup

A Luis Suarez-inspired Barcelona reached the final of the 2015 Club World Cup as they comfortably beat Guangzhou Evergrande 3-0 at the International Stadium in Yokohama on Thursday.

Suarez was the sole representative of the Blaugrana's usual attacking trident on the pitch and bore that responsibility with aplomb, scoring a hat-trick to secure their win in the semi-final.

Guangzhou defended well until Barca broke the deadlock, but from there, the Chinese side's resistance crumbled as their illustrious opponents dominated possession and chances.

The Blaugrana started with Neymar on the bench following his fitness problems, while Lionel Messi wasn't even in the squad due to illness, with Sergi Roberto and Munir El Haddadi filling in.

Barca wasted little time in controlling the play but saw their chances restricted early on by some resolute Guangzhou defending, while Elkeson made a pair of threatening forays up-field before being dispossessed.

Munir was guilty of wasting several promising opportunities at the other end, with football journalist Rafael Hernandez joking he was doing Guangzhou's defending for them:

The first two clear-cut chances of the game fell to the youngster. After being sent through one-on-one, he was quickly smothered by Guangzhou's goalkeeper, and he also a header wide.

Barca took the lead in the 39th minute through Suarez, who pounced on a rebound when Ivan Rakitic's powerful effort from distance was spilled in front of him, per El Grafico Diario on Twitter:

Opta Jose noted his impressive contribution:

The Chinese Super League champions almost made an immediate reply as they raced forward and Elkeson sent a header on goal, but Claudio Bravo proved equal to it with a magnificent save in the bottom corner.

Guangzhou continued to push for the final minutes of the half to no avail, before Suarez put the game to bed shortly after the restart.

Koji Sasahara/Associated Press

Andres Iniesta lofted a lovely through ball forward, and the Uruguayan showed his typically wonderful technique in controlling it on his chest before volleying it in, per Magrao Sincero on Twitter:

As the club noted on Twitter, the goal capped off a brilliant team move:

Both players drew praise from football journalist Rik Sharma:

Barca could have had a third when Roberto found Suarez with a neat cross, but the forward opted to dummy the ball rather than shoot and was ultimately dispossessed.

The 28-year-old continued to seek out his hat-trick and sent a volley on goal—this time from an exquisite Rakitic through ball—but saw it dealt with comfortably.

Suarez had his third in the 68th minute, though, when he dispatched a penalty after Munir went down far too easily under some very gentle pressure from Huang Bowen, per Luis Navarro on Twitter:

Squawka Football shared the details of his incredible form:

From there, Barcelona were content to keep hold of the ball with their victory all but assured. Guangzhou struggled to create chances save for Gao Lin's run at Barca's defence, but the forward over hit his cross to Yu Hanchao.

Munir, who should have scored at least once, missed yet another chance late on when he sent another header over the crossbar.

The Blaugrana will take on River Plate in the final, where they will hope to have Neymar and Messi back in contention to start.

While the Argentinian side represent Barca's strongest possible opponents, the Catalan side showed here they're more than capable of producing a win even without two of their biggest stars, though, so with Suarez in red-hot form, they should have enough to beat the Millionaires.

Expect Barcelona to pick up their fifth trophy of the year on Sunday.

Post-Match Reaction

Suarez showed remarkable humility after the match, preferring to focus on acknowledging the difficulty of their task without Messi and Neymar, per the club's official Twitter feed:

Barca manager Luis Enrique was delighted with his team's performance:

Meanwhile, Guangzhou boss Luiz Felipe Scolari praised Barca's ability to cope without Neymar and Messi. Per the club's Twitter, he said:

"We have lost 3-0 against Barca, It also happens to the big clubs. Whether or not Neymar or Messi play, Barca have an unquestionable style."