Football
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Luis Suarez hopes Lionel Messi recovers for Barcelona-River Plate final

Barcelona star Luis Suarez dedicated his hat trick and the club's 3-0 Club World Cup semifinal victory over Guangzhou Evergrande to his sidelined teammate Lionel Messi on Thursday.

"We were missing two very important players and we had to remain very focused so that the match didn't get away from us," Suarez told Telecinco. "I hope that Messi recovers as quickly as possible and is here for the final. This [victory] is his as well, and also for Neymar and Douglas too."

The Uruguay international made up for the absence of his Argentine teammate (renal colic) and Neymar (groin injury), scoring his third career hat trick for Barcelona in all competitions as the Catalan club set up Sunday's final versus Argentine side River Plate.

Messi told his Facebook fans that he hopes he will be fit in time for the final.

Gran trabajo del equipo, ¡estamos en la final! Me duele mucho perderme cualquier partido, pero espero estar al 100% para...

Posted by Leo Messi on jueves, 17 de diciembre de 2015

Suarez put the European champions ahead just before halftime, hammering in a rebound off Ivan Rakitic's long-range effort that was parried by Guangzhou goalkeeper Li Shuai.

The striker made it 2-0 five minutes after the break when he controlled a pass from Andres Iniesta off his chest and beat Li with a right-footed volley.

He put the result beyond doubt with a penalty kick after Huang Bowen took down Munir El Haddadi in the area.

"Luis is an assassin in the area," Blaugrana coach Luis Enrique said. "He has the ability to take advantage of those opportunities in the box. If we add the way he can press and how he sparks the rest of the team, he is indispensable.

"Suarez was spectacular. He is very talented in difficult situations and knows what to do in those situations. We had some injuries to deal with so we had to adjust and he stepped up.

Suarez cautioned that River Plate would be a tough opponent on Sunday.

"They are one of the big clubs, that is why they won [Copa] Libertadores," he said. "We have a rivalry with River, they are very strong and one of the best clubs in America. It is going to be a spectacular final and we hope that we can bring the trophy home."

Messi was diagnosed Thursday morning with renal colic, a type of abdominal pain commonly attributed to kidney stones. His availability for the final will "depend on the outcome of further medical tests," the club said in a statement. 

Neymar, who has been recovering from a groin injury, remained on the bench.

"We don't know whether Messi or Neymar will be in the final," Luis Enrique said. "The team showed a very serious side, leaving our opponent without any dangerous options. These types of matches always generate doubt and we had a very complete encounter. We made sure their Brazil stars did not shine."

Guangzhou coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said there was no shame in losing to a club like Barcelona.

"That Barcelona beat us 3-0 is no different from what happens to other clubs," Scolari said. "I just want to thank my team for the job they did. Although Barcelona played without two of their best players, the style and the quality of their players is unquestionable. It is a learning experience. We knew it would be. Barca are always a great team to watch and even though we lost to them, you have to admire them."

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