For the first time since his move to Paris Saint-Germain, Argentine star Lionel Messi plays with his country against Venezuela, which ended with a 3-1 victory for the Tango team in the South American World Cup qualifiers.
During the match, the "Bulga" was subjected to very harsh treatment from the Venezuelan players.
Venezuela down to 10 men after this horror Luiz Martinez tackle on Messi.
A potential leg-breaker.
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— 2021/22 Football Season (@JoySportsGH) September 3, 2021
On God this midget's fitness and physicality is unbeatable.
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— S. (@Frenkenbauer21) September 3, 2021
In the 28th minute of the match, Venezuelan defender Adrian Martinez committed a harsh error and a harsh intervention on Messi, which left 5 minutes on the field for treatment.
According to Argentine media reports, the captain of the Argentine national team sustained an injury below the knee due to the strong intervention.
The referee issued the yellow card in the face of Martinez, before amending his decision and expelling him immediately after watching the replay and using the “mouse” technique.
Messi - who became the most participating with his country in the qualifiers with 52 games, surpassing Zanetti - did not play his best matches with "Alba Celeste", as he did not score or assist any of his team's hat-trick.