Messi-led Argentina national team to play in Kerala next year
World Cup-winning Argentinian football team led by iconic Lionel Messi will play in Kochi next year, Kerala State Sports Minister V Abdurahiman announced on Wednesday.
The La Liga clash between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid on Sunday night was a feast for the fans, who witnessed a perfect thriller at the Wanda Metropolitano.
The game was a see-saw ride for both the teams, who were punching above their weights to draw the first blood of the game. But some tight defense, poor miss and some sort of unfavourable luck denied both the teams of a goal.
This entailed that something special was required to put the ball inside the net and who other than Lionel Messi could have been the eligible person for the job.
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The talisman scored in the waning moments of the rain-hit game to help Barcelona inch their opponents.
In the 86th minute, Messi boasted a brilliant one-two combination with Luis Suarez on the edge of the Atletico area before curling a left-foot shot into the back of the Atletico net to make Barca the numero uno in the 2019-20 La Liga.
Asked about the five-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi, Valverde revealed the importance of the Argentine at the Camp Nou.
“In games which are even and hard, to have Leo is always a huge advantage,” Valverde said to reporters post-match as quoted by Goal.
Messi’s magic helped Barcelona edge past Atletico Madrid 1-0 and meanwhile, the Blaugrana retained the top spot.
“We have won and picked up three really important points, which is what is important.
“We expected Atletico to start as they did. We had to be strong in the first 20 minutes. They were doing damage on every attack. As the game went on, we got more control and both sides had clear chances. We had the better of the second half,” said the coach.
The win also saw the Blaugrana retain the top spot in the league table ahead of Real Madrid.
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