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| source daily-sun.com |
Lionel Messi finally showed his magic for his country Argentina as Messi scored a hat-trick, a first-half masterpiece followed by two late goals, as Argentina beat a Switzerland 3-1 in a friendly.
Lionel Messi is often criticised for not playing his best for Argentina and saving it for his club Barcelona proved all his critcs wrong with these three stunning goals.
Messi gave Argentina a 19th-minute lead and produced another piece of inspiration with a run which took him past the entire Swiss defence.
Xherdan Shaqiri fired an equaliser early in the second half but Messi struck again with a clinical goal in the 87th minute and completed his hat-trick with a last-minute penalty.
Xherdan Shaqiri fired an equaliser early in the second half but Messi struck again with a clinical goal in the 87th minute and completed his hat-trick with a last-minute penalty.
Lionel Messi’s performance kept the 30,000 home crowed silenced for the most of the time. Despite a very little support for the Argentina players Argentina stars showed their flawless great passing game on a poor pitch.
Messi had already had a couple of runs at the Swiss defence before his opening goal when he played the ball to Aguero who back-heeled the return for Messi to slot the ball into the bottom corner.
He then dribbled around the entire Swiss defence and pulled the ball back into the penalty area but his team mates failed to read the move and the ball was cleared.
Argentina had the possession for maximum time in the game but Swiss midfield halted them by repeatedly by tactical fouls which went unpunished by the referee, including two clear yellow card offences by Captain Gokhan Inler.
Messi had already had a couple of runs at the Swiss defence before his opening goal when he played the ball to Aguero who back-heeled the return for Messi to slot the ball into the bottom corner.
He then dribbled around the entire Swiss defence and pulled the ball back into the penalty area but his team mates failed to read the move and the ball was cleared.
Argentina had the possession for maximum time in the game but Swiss midfield halted them by repeatedly by tactical fouls which went unpunished by the referee, including two clear yellow card offences by Captain Gokhan Inler.
