Lionel Messi made a return to the Argentina national team last night, but Venezuela spoiled his comeback with a 3-1 win.
Lionel Messi’s comeback wasn’t exactly the one he dreamt of when he entered the field in the white and the blue for the first time since the World Cup last year.
Argentina lost the friendly 3-1 to Venezuela, and Messi faced an injury towards the end of the game which has now ruled him out for the side’s second game against Morocco.
The Barcelona forward created numerous chances in the game, but Argentina couldn’t find a breakthrough.
Fans noticed how Messi created chances and reached threatening positions at times, but his teammates failed him.
Messi’s return:
The Barcelona forward returned to the national colours for the first time since the World Cup in Russia, but little has changed for Lionel Messi.
Two videos of the game resurfaced soon after Argentina’s loss. One shows Messi dropping to the midfield and dribbling past the Venezuelan players with ease. However, his cross goes in vain as the attacker misses the chance.
In the other, the Argentine forward takes an intelligent run inside the penalty area, but the pass never reaches him due to a bad touch.
Here are both the videos:
UNREAL FROM MESSI pic.twitter.com/RSbNmH9SuM
— Ryan (@LioneI10i) March 22, 2019
Messi’s teammates in a nutshell pic.twitter.com/S6RhnXaRM1
— Ryan (@LioneI10i) March 22, 2019
The lack of movement in the midfield often forced Messi to drop to midfield and orchestrate the play. While he, on many occasions, has played a similar role at Barcelona as well, a weak performance from his teammates led to the side’s loss in the game.
Lionel Messi will return to Barcelona as he has been ruled out of the second international friendly.
The forward will aim to recover from the injury as Barcelona await a tough set of fixtures, significantly against Atletico Madrid in the league, and the Champions League quarterfinal against Manchester United.
How Twitter reacted..
Messi plays midfield and attack only when playing with some of the best players in the world. Somehow cannot manage to play everywhere outside Barcelona. Weird. Argentina would be better off with him playing a more disciplined false nine position, getting the ball closer to goal
— Rafiki (@zzyzx91) March 23, 2019
It’s must be difficult being Leo Messi for Argentina. Imagine playing upfront waiting to get a single touch and then switching to midfield to create chances all alone only to see his teammates spoil it over and over again.
— Pontius Pilate (@Schopunhauer) March 22, 2019
The midfield looked very slow and I’ve yet to actually be impressed by Leandro Paredes in an Argentina shirt. Lautaro Martinez looked great but no movement from the midfield when Messi was on the ball. Back line was worrying but Walter Kannemann the bright spot for me.
— Roy Nemer (@RoyNemer) March 22, 2019
I feel so sorry for Leo Messi. He’s just doing everything on his own. Man’s trying to defend, play from the midfield and attack too. Why did he not Spain instead of Argentina??? 😥
— Rock™ (@staconzy16) March 22, 2019
What next?
Messi will aim to gain match fitness for the Catalan derby, as Barca returns to action against Espanyol on March 30.
