Bayern cruise into final

Bayern Munich will play either Raja Casablanca or Atletico Mineiro - who face each other on Wednesday evening - in the finale of what the club's calling #Mission5 on Twitter. A win in the Club World Cup would make Bayern the active holders of a total of five titles.

"I think we played well and stayed serious," scorer Franck Ribery said on ARD public television after the game, hinting at the danger of complacency against unknown opposition in a half-empty stadium far from home just before the Bundesliga's winter break. "We are professionals and we want to win this title in Morocco. It's important to us."

Guests Guangzhou Evergrande FC, sporting a largely homegrown side sprinkled with foreign attackers, put up a resilient line of defense in the first half. They might never have touched the ball in the Bayern box prior to the break, but held the score at 0-0 for nearly 40 minutes. For much of the match, it was apparent that World Cup-winning former Italy coach Marcelo Lippi was in charge of drilling the Chinese side's back line.

As the man whose team spoiled the penultimate chapter of the 2006 World Cup "Sommermärchen" ("summer fairytale"), by beating surprise semifinalists and hosts Germany before going on to lift the trophy, history suggested that Lippi had more of a chance against heavy favorites Bayern than most.

Quick-fire double before break

The inevitable Bayern opener, after midfielders Thiago and Toni Kroos both rattled the frame of Zeng Cheng's goal, fell to Franck Ribery. Mario Mandzukic first tried to convert a cross with his head, Thiago was next to see a shot blocked, and Ribery volleyed home into the bottom corner.

If the opener did not seal the game, Guangzhou's sudden defensive blackout after conceding put the result beyond doubt. Barely two minutes after Ribery's strike, Mandzukic was left all alone at the back post to dive and head Thiago's cross past Zeng.

Bayern added a third shortly after the break; Mario Götze scored his eighth goal for his new club and his first from outside the area. Götze's lengthy shot, following a set-up from David Alaba, was the clear pick of the Bayern goals.

The departed Dortmunder hit the woodwork twice more in the second period, once after Zeng palmed his strike onto the crossbar. Despite having more than 70 percent of the ball and in excess of 10 times as many shots as Guangzhou, the Bavarians failed to find a fourth - or even a fifth to match their Twitter mission.

Having sealed the Bundesliga lead - even with a game in hand - for the winter break, just the final remains for Pep Guardiola's side before almost a month's rest.