Lionel Messi scored the fastest goal of his career as he led Argentina to a 2-0 win over Australia on Thursday in their international friendly at the Workers’ Stadium, Beijing China.
In a game that orbited around the fanfare of seeing the best player in the world in action, it didn’t take long for Messi to verify the hype.
In fact, it took just 1 minute and 20 seconds for the Argentina captain to put his name on the scoresheet to register his 103rd international goal which was also the fastest in his career.
It was a mesmerizing moment by Messi to commemorate the feat after producing a spectacular left-footed curler from approximately 20 yards outside the box, leaving the fully extended Aussi keeper helpless in preventing the wonder strike from disturbing his net.
Messi again had a hand in the scoreline as he and defender Rodrigo De Paul linked up in a short corner which produced an inch-perfect cross to an on-rushing Germán Pezzella who delivered a powerful header to double their lead in the 68th minute.
Despite the almost relentless pressure on the Australian defense, the ‘Socceroos’ managed to restrain the South American champs to the two-goal advantage at the final whistle.
The win extended Argentina’s unbeaten streak since the World Cup to three games, following 2-0 ad 7-0 wins over Panama and Curacao respectively.
Argentina will next face Indonesia on Monday to close out their international fixtures during the break.
