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Barcelona stays flawless in China

By Tang Yue (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-08-09 09:26

Barcelona's Lionel Messi (10) is challenged by Beijing Guoan's Zhang Yonghai (2nd R) during their friendly soccer match at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, in Beijing August 8, 2010. [Photo/Agencies]

BEIJING - Barcelona continued its run of clean sheets against Chinese teams after defeating Beijing Guo'an 3-0 on Sunday, pushing the overall scoreline to 24-0.

Despite the Catalan club playing without its eight World Cup winners, the friendly drew about 30,000 fans to the 80,000-seat National Olympic Stadium, mainly thanks to Lionel Messi.

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Fans screamed Messi's name every time he touched the ball, even though the Argentine forward did not score. He found the net twice during Barcelona's 5-2 defeat of the K-League All-stars in Seoul on Wednesday.

Messi, who reportedly injured a finger during training on Saturday, played the entire first half. His highlight upon returning to the pitch where he helped Argentina win a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games was a free kick that hit the post.

"Messi needs more time to fully regain his form. He has only resumed training for four or five days," Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola said. "The pitch is not very good. It also kept the players from doing their best."

Sergi Roberto Carnicer and Manuel Agudo Duran scored to give the visitor a 2-0 lead in the first half. Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic rounded out the victory in the 89th minute.

Guo'an had several chances to become the first Chinese team to score against Barcelona. An indirect free kick in the penalty area went begging, though, as did opportunities for Xu Liang, Ryan Griffiths and Joel Griffiths.

Barcelona players pose with children from earthquake-hit regions in Sichuan province during a charity activity held by UNICEF and its Chinese tour sponsor Audi on Saturday. The activity calls for attention to living and education conditions of the children in the poverty-stricken areas in China. Provided to China Daily

"I think we have already showed our skill and spirit as the Chinese league champion. We had several chances in the game, but our players were still nervous in front of the world's best team and didn't take their opportunities," Guo'an head coach Hong Yuanshuo said.

Barcelona appeared in Beijing for the first time since 2007, when Messi, Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto'o, Deco and friends beat Guo'an by the same score in front of 20,000 fans at Beijing's Fengtai Stadium.

The match marked the end of Barcelona's six-day tour of Asia, a visit that included two friendlies and several charitable activities. The club drove straight to the airport after the post-match news conference and flew back to Spain.