Barca conquer America

In rainy conditions Barca settled quickly into their stride, Gudjohnsen capping off a great move with a low curled finish on 13 minutes.

On the half hour Marquez arrived at the near post to glance a header into the far corner.

Ronaldinho made no mistake from ten yards halfway through the second half and Deco finished off the performance with a bullet strike into the top corner from outside the area.

Although Barcelona had most of the ball from the start, America enjoyed the first meaningful attack. Claudio Lopez sprang the offside trap and there was contact with goalkeeper Victor Valdes as he nicked the ball past him.

Due to the slippy nature of the turf, however, it would have been a harsh decision to award a penalty to the Mexican club.

That sparked their opponents into action, a series of concise passes ending at the feet of Ronaldinho, who seemed to take his time before shooting. America defended successfully to deny the star man.

In the 11th minute the lead was Barcelona's. Thiago Motta passed to Ronaldinho, who flicked expertly to Andres Iniesta. The little midfielder fed Gudjohnsen on the right side of the box and the Iceland striker finished with aplomb.

Veteran Lopez worked hard in attack for America, with little success. The closest they came to scoring in the first period was a Salvador Cabanas free-kick from distance that Valdes saved low at his post after the ball skidded dangerously off the turf.

Deco stepped up to take a corner for Barcelona, whipping it in with menace. It was beyond the head of Ronaldinho and a pair of America defenders, but not Mexico captain Marquez, whose header was expertly guided past Guillermo Ochoa.

There was little further incident in the remainder of the half. The only occurence of note happened when Ronaldinho, surging onto the attack, attempted a pirouette and was halted physically by Fabiano Pereira, a challenge that left the Brazilian hurt.

In the second half Deco produced enough sublime touches to surpass even the mercurial Brazil playmaker alongside him. One set up Iniesta for a shot on goal, but the Catalan hit it over the bar from 20 yards.

Barcelona captain Carles Puyol was fouled by the over-zealous Pereira as the European champions began to play keep-ball and he was shown a yellow card.

The impressive thing about Barca was the ability to flood the pitch when America did gain the ball. They worked their way to the backline on a few occasions, each time thwarted by a wall of players.

The third goal was another peach of a passing move. Ronaldinho started things with a surge past Ricardo Rojas. Deco and substitute Xavi were also involved, the former flicking Giuly through wonderfully on the right.

The Frenchman's shot across goal was saved by Ochoa, but Ronaldino picked it up and promptly curled the ball into the top corner beyond the goalie's despairing reach.

Lopez became frustrated as the linesman's flag intervened in a promising move, Valdes saving at his feet nonetheless.

The introduction of flamboyant former Mexico attacker Cuauhtemoc Blanco among a plethora of substitutes briefly flickered America into life, but Deco's powerhouse of a shot with six minutes left after being teed up by Ronaldinho finished the rout.

In injury time Ronnie tried an extravagant chip over the head of the despairing Ochoa, but the ball came back off the bar.

Barca were just too much for America to handle, although Luis Fernando Tena's team showed spells of enterprising play. In the end Frank Rijkaard will be by far the happier of the coaches.