Club World Cup final: Santos v Barcelona – live! | Alan Gardner

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<div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.22.4/75883?ns=guardian&pageName=World+Club+Cup+final%3A+Santos+v+Barcelona+*+live%21+%7C+Alan+Gardner%3AArticle%3A1678352&ch=Football&c3=GU.co.uk&c4=Club+World+Cup+%28football%29%2CSantos+%28Football+club%29%2CBarcelona+%28Football+club%29%2CFootball%2CSport&c5=Champions+League&c6=Alan+Gardner&c7=11-Dec-18&c8=1678352&c9=Article&c10=Minute+by+minute&c11=Football&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FFootball%2FClub+World+Cup" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">• Hit F5 or use the autorefresh tool for the latest updates<br />• Send your emails to <a href="mailto:alan.gardner.casual@guardian.co.uk">alan.gardner.casual@guardian.co.uk</a><br />• <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/alanroderick">Follow Alan on Twitter</a>, if that's your thing<br />• <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/matches">Check out all today's fixtures in our live score centre</a></p><!-- Block 30 --><p><strong>Peep! Peep!</strong> That's half-time. Which is what Santos are being paid, after a first period in which Barcelona demonstrated for the umpteenth time that their playing a different game to everyone else.</p><!-- Block 29 --><p><strong>GOAL! Santos 0-3 Barcelona (Fabregas 45)</strong> Criminy, even the Charity Shield is usually more competitive than this. Messi again causes havoc in the Santos box, collecting a cross on the gallop before turning and back-heeling into the path of Dani Alves. His cut back is headed goalwards by Xavi, I think, and although that effort is blocked, the ball lands at the feet of Cesc Fabregas, who bobbles a shot across the keeper and into the far corner. It was almost an apologetic finish - but really Santos are the ones who should be saying sorry, after another bout of hapless defending.</p><!-- Block 28 --><p><strong>42 min:</strong> "As a Culé who's also a die-hard Argentina fan, I'm loving this game," declares Cecilia Marjakangas, with unabashed pride/gloating schadenfreude. "Pele said Neymar is better than La Pulga; let's see him take back his words. Maradona's comment to Pele's claim: Pele must change doctors and his medication, and take it in the night instead of in the morning. I tend to agree. Maybe then Pele stopped talking in the third person. Anyhow, a fabulous match. I love watching Barcelona play. Whenever they lose the ball (rarely), they hunt in packs like wolves, press hard and win it back. In some games Messi wanders deep into the opposition half, steals the ball back and goes on one of his amazing mazy runs and scores. Really my favourite thing to watch."</p><!-- Block 27 --><p><strong>40 min:</strong> "There goes Neymar!" exclaims the ESPN commentator, excitedly, milliseconds before Eric Abidal calmly intercepts the ball. If this game were being brought to you by Warner Brothers, the Brazilian's colourful mohican would be all of a droop right now.</p><!-- Block 26 --><p><strong>38 min:</strong> Ah, there's Neymar, mouth agape after bumping into Big Ole Gerard Pique. It's a foul but, predictably, Santos are soon back in their own half, trying to piece together their dignity.</p><!-- Block 25 --><p><strong>37 min:</strong> "Man alive, a MORNING MBM? I'm off the booze myself, but I feel sorry for anyone doing a MBM drinking game and still hoping to be compis mentis for the 4pm Arsenal Man City game." I don't expect I'll be compos mentis by then, Ryan Dunne, though I'll be in the chair to see how far short the Premier League comes of this fare.</p><!-- Block 24 --><p><strong>35 min:</strong> Borges has got an eyelash in his eye, so there's a brief moment of respite. By the way, has anyone seen Neymar recently? I'm pretty sure that if he doesn't now go on to score a hat-trick, his entire career is going to bobbins ...</p><!-- Block 23 --><p><strong>33 min:</strong> "Morning, from Cairo, my new riotous home," says Simon Frank, who, it turns out, is a geography pedant. "Sao Paulo doesn't have a shoreline (min 12)... BUT, Santos is a port just outside Sao Paulo, so maybe you're right after all, in a double-wrong way." It wouldn't be the first time, Simon.</p><!-- Block 22 --><p><strong>31 min:</strong> Perhaps unsurprisingly, Santos make an early change, bringing on former Manchester City sulk Elano for Danilo. Barcelona, in case you were wondering, have had roughly three-quarters of the possession thus far.</p><!-- Block 21 --><p><strong>29 min</strong> Fabregas hits the post! Santos seem to have loaned Andre Villas-Boas's high defensive line and one again the Spanish champions locate a precise ball in behind. Fabregas, who is <em>almost</em> playing as a centre-forward in this fluid Barça line-up, collects possession before hammering a low strike which beats Rafael Cabral at his near post but zangs back out off the woodwork.</p><!-- Block 20 --><p><strong>27 min:</strong> A shot! Santos have a shot! On target and everything! It was diminutive goal-poaching scamperer and literary giant Borges, dashing into space behind Pique before rifling a low righ-footer at Valdes, who clutches the ball tightly to his chest. That was actually not a bad chance.</p><!-- Block 19 --><p><strong>25 min:</strong> A timely observation from Don Evans: "Wow!! That was bloody brilliant!" Messi then goes through one-on-one again, but the covering defender just manages to get back and put him off as he shapes for another lob.</p><!-- Block 18 --><p><strong>GOAL! Santos 0-2 Barcelona (Xavi 23)</strong> There's nothing <em>bonito</em> about Santos's <em>joga</em> at the moment, as Barcelona are tearing the Brazilians a new one. This is like a training match - it's borderline embarrassing. This time, Alves has time to pick his cross from the right and although a defender manages to get half a peg on it, Xavi brings the centre immediately under control before lashing a low shot past Rafael Cabral.</p><!-- Block 17 --><p><strong>19 min:</strong> Did I mention that goal was a thing of *yawn* beauty? Anyway, forget that, the Sistene Chapel won't paint itself - here comes Thiago Alcantara down the left. This time there's no end product, which I suppose we'll have to forgive the lad.</p><!-- Block 16 --><p><strong>GOAL! Santos 0-1 Barcelona (Messi 17)</strong> Barcelona take the lead and it's another moment of humdrum brilliance from The Best Team in the World. Messi, dropping deep on the right, turned awya from his man before feeding Fabregas, who pinged a first-time ball inside to Xavi. Though it was slightly behind him, Xavi brought the ball down with a ****ed leg, effectively using his ankle to control it, before slipping a pass through to Messi, who has motored forward into the channel. The little Argentine then delicately scooped the ball over the advancing keeper - though the defender on the line probably should have done better with his attempted overhead clearance.</p><!-- Block 15 --><p><strong>15 min:</strong> ... which Ganso, teed up by Neymar, drills a few yards wide of the near post.</p><!-- Block 14 --><p><strong>14 min:</strong> Another brief foray forward for Santos results in Gerard Pique bodily muscling Borges to the ground. That's a free-kick in a promising position, some 25 yards out on the right ...</p><!-- Block 13 --><p><strong>12 min:</strong> Barcelona attacks are crashing likes waves on the Sao Paulo shoreline. A Fabregas cut back on the left of the area just fails to find a team-mate and then Messi manages to squeeze out a shot from near the edge of the box, near the centre, which the keeper saves, pushing the rebound out to Thiago ... who doesn't quite get hold of the rebound and the chance is wasted.</p><!-- Block 12 --><p><strong>10 min:</strong> Barcelona don't like to let the opposition have a go, do they?</p><!-- Block 11 --><p><strong>9 min:</strong> At the other end, Barcelona tiki-taka their way into the box again, with Fabregas, I think, going down under pressure. There are some desultory moans for a penalty - but aren't there always?</p><!-- Block 10 --><p><strong>7 min:</strong> A first sight of goal for Santos, after Barcelona allowed them the briefest moment of possession. Carles Puyol, though, manages to disposses Neymar on the edge of the area, after a sinuous run from the 19-year-old.</p><!-- Block 9 --><p><strong>6 min:</strong> "Good morning from Toronto mate." And good morning to you, Don Evans. "Neymar, Messi and 21 others?? Must be earlier there than here? 20 others?" Referees haven't been replaced by omniscient robots yet, you know, Don.</p><!-- Block 8 --><p><strong>4 min:</strong> As soon as a man in white manages to get his foot on the ball – in this case Santos's other young gun, Paulo Henrique Ganso – he can only succeed in putting it out for a throw-in. Dani Alves then goes marauding forward on the right, but his cross comes to nothing.</p><!-- Block 7 --><p><strong>2 min:</strong> Lionel Messi goes on his first jinking, stuttering, rag-doll run of the night, before being crowded out on the edge of the area. Santos still haven't had a kick ...</p><!-- Block 6 --><p><strong>1 min:</strong> And Barcelona have slipped the needle straight into its groove, seizing possession from the kick-off and coming forward through Eric Abidal on the left and then Cesc Fabregas towards the right-hand side of the Santos area.</p><!-- Block 5 --><p><strong>Peep!</strong> And we're off, with Santos in white kicking from left to right, Barcelona wearing their traditional <em>blaugrana</em> livery.</p><!-- Block 4 --><p><strong>The pennants have been exchanged</strong>, so let's get it on ...</p><!-- Block 3 --><p><strong>Form guide:</strong> Barcelona lifted the Club World Cup two years ago, after beating Estudiantes in the final, but it's been sometime since Santos were crowned the best in the world* – it was 1963 when the Brazilian side won the second of the two Intercontinental Cups. Since that competition was replaced by Fifa's pan-national jamboree in 2000 (you know, when Manchester United killed the FA Cup and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuiOPuNe0N0">were made to look like chumps for their sins</a>), Brazilian teams won the first three, Europeans sides the last four. You may not be surprised to hear that Barcelona start as favourites today but if anything can bring down <em>tiki-taka</em>, perhaps it's <em>joga bonito</em>.</p><p>*Because this is really just a glorified Charity Shield, isn't it?</p><!-- Block 2 --><p><strong>Neymar, Messi and 21 other blokes:</strong></p><p><strong>Santos:</strong> Barbosa, Edu Dracena, Leo, Durval, Bruno Rodrigo, Danilo, Arouca, Henrique, Ganso, Borges, Neymar.<br /><strong>Subs:</strong> Aranha, Elano, Bruno Aguiar, Carvalho, Vinicius, Anderson, Ibson, Alan Kardec, Renteria, Para, Diogo, Vladimir.</p><p><strong>Barcelona:</strong> Valdes, Dani Alves, Pique, Puyol, Abidal, Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta, Messi, Fabregas, Thiago.<br /><strong>Subs:</strong> Pinto, Sanchez, Mascherano, Keita, Pedro, Jonathan, Maxwell, Adriano, Fontas, Cuenca, Oier.</p><p><strong>Referee:</strong> Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)</p><!-- Block 1 --><p><strong>Preamble:</strong> Hello and welcome to the Hype machine. They say that a questioning mind is a sign of intelligence. What is the Club World Cup? What is a Neymar? And why the jings am I not still in bed at this time on a Sunday morning? These posers, and possibly more, could well be answered over the next two hours.</p><p>Though when I say "what is a Neymar", I am of course being disingenuous. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNRw5SXvzaY">This</a> is a Neymar; and <a href="http://www.fifa.com/ballondor/puskasaward/video=1544512/index.html">this</a>, as well as <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPe7CGQVnHA">this</a>. Actually, ignore the last one. He is the (latest) new Pele. Good luck with that, then. Anyway, with the Santos starlet up against a man worthy of his own constellation in Lionel Messi, today's CWC final is being billed as a match for the ages, a face-off between the world's best. What does Cristiano think of it all, I wonder? The script we've been given is for a two-strong cast: Pele Jr and the heir to Maradona – the Marvelous ****atoo versus the Atomic Flea.</p><p>Kick-off at the Yokohama Stadium is at 10.30am GMT, and I'll have the teams ready for you in a jiffy.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/worldclubchampionship">Club World Cup</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/santos">Santos</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/barcelona">Barcelona</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/alangardner">Alan Gardner</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; 2011 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. 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