There are not many ‘firsts’ left for Messi to do, at least in a Barcelona shirt, but on Tuesday night in Tbilisi, the 28-year-old scored two free-kicks in the same match to quickly overturn Sevilla’s early lead that came courtesy of another free-kick scored by fellow Argentina international, Éver Banega.
Trailing early in the match due to that excellent Banega strike, Messi produced one of his own just minutes later when he clipped the ball over the ball and into the top corner from the edge of the penalty box. Not content with doing it once, Messi lined up another, this time from further out but with the same devastating result. A good sign for Barcelona that Messi is showing no signs of rust after a gruelling Copa América but further ammunition for the doubters, questioning why the four-time Ballon D’or winner didn’t do this in Chile.
Barcelona looked to run away with the cup after goals by Rafinha and Luis Suarez put them 4-1 in front but an unlikely comeback saw Sevilla level the game and take it into extra time. Possibly Manchester United bound, Pedro scored a fifth for Barcelona in the 115th minute and that was enough for Luis Enrique’s side to begin the new season with another trophy.
golazo argentino 