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.
Barcelona manager Quique Setien has said that Lionel Messi should not only be judged by his goal-scoring ability after his all-round brilliance helped them beat Mallorca in their first-ever La Liga match following the COVID-19 hiatus.
“Leo is fine. You don’t only have to assess the goals he scored, but also the rest of his contributions, like assisting. That gives us a lot of points,” Setien said as quoted by Goal.com.
“It’s an astronomical number. I think he’s reached 700 goals and that’s why he’s the best player in the world,” he added.
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Messi was at his usual best in Barcelona’s first game in almost three months as he scored once and assisted twice for the Catalan giants to humiliate Mallorca at their backyard.
The Argentine superstar had taken control of the game midway into the first half and executed his first major action when he displayed his class outside the box before finding Martin Braithwaite – roped in as a replacement in January to cover Luis Suarez – who completed a calm finish to disturb Mallorca’s net to take Barca 2-0 up.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner was back at spewing his magic again in the 79th minute when he found Jordi Alba who took them 3-0 up. Messi then deservingly got his name on the scoresheet in the dying minutes of the game to announce his grand return to top-flight football after the COVID-19 break.
The table-toppers Barcelona outplayed the relegation-threatened Mallorca in all departments at an empty Iberostar Stadium. Mallorca, on the other hand, attempted to shift the game in their favour but failed to match with the competence of their rivals.
Barcelona, who are currently at the top of the La Liga standings, will next face Leganes on June 17.
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