By FRANCO PANIZO
A day after Pep Guardiola said he had no plans of selling him, David Villa was lost to injury.
Villa will be sidelined for approximately the next six months after fracturing his tibia in Barcelona's 4-0 Club World Cup win over Al Sadd on Thursday. Villa suffered the injury when he landed awkwardly six minutes before halftime. He had to be carried off the field on a stretcher.
The loss of Villa overshadowed a Barcelona rout that included two goals from Adriano and finishes from Seydou Keita and Maxwell.
The Spanish heavyweight's win means it will face Brazilian club Santos in the tournament final on Sunday.
Here are more stories to kick off your Thursday:
UNIVERSIDAD DE CHILE WINS COPA SUDAMERICANA
Universidad de Chile cruised to a 3-0 win over 10-man Liga de Quito and was crowned Copa Sudamericana champions on Wednesday night. Eduardo Vargas, the Chilean forward linked with a move to Chelsea, scored twice and Gustavo Lorenzetti added another as Universidad took the second leg to claim the title with a 4-0 aggregate victory.
PSG, FULHAM CRASH OUT OF EUROPA LEAGUE
Paris Saint-Germain was eliminated from the Europa League on Wednesday despite winning its final group match against Atletico Bilbao, 4-2. Another team eliminated from the tournament was Fulham. Clint Dempsey and the Cottagers were painfully eliminated on a last-gasp goal in a 2-2 draw with Odense BK.
One club that avoided a similar fate was Besiktas. The Turkish club defeated an already-qualified Stoke City, 3-1, to take Group E and advance to the knockout phase of the tournament.
MACHEDA SET FOR JANUARY LOAN
Federico Macheda's search for playing time will see him loaned out from Manchester United during the winter transfer period. Macheda's agent, Giovanni Bia, confirmed that the 20-year-old striker will make a move in January, though he said there are no current requests from Italian clubs. Macheda, who was loaned out to Sampdoria for part of last season, has made two appearances off the bench this Premiership campaign.
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How do you see Barcelona doing without Villa? Surprised PSG crashed out of the Europa League? Where should Macheda head to?
Share your thoughts below.
Zamora Out … Buddle In!
Yes it is a Pipe dream. But Can’t I dream?
COYB!
it’s hard to say, he definitely hasn’t been in good form this year and something bad is going on behind the scenes between him and Jol. That said maybe they will be able to work through it
at least our boy Dempsey scored.
hey do you guys think Zamora will leave next month?
still bummed fulham crashed out!
Could be a blessing in disguise for Barcelona as this could put the trade rumors on ice and allow Alexis to continue building chemistry.
So unfortunate for Villa to injure himself in this manner in a tournament that really means little in the grand scheme of international football.
I hope it means everything
Landon donovan just tweeted “Once a Toffee, always a Toffee” …Think it could mean anything?