Lionel Messi scored a free kick and served up two assists as Argentina beat Ecuador 3-0 on Saturday to set themselves up for a Copa America semi-final against Colombia.
Messi missed a golden chance in the first half but set up Rodrigo De Paul five minutes before half-time and then did the same for Lautaro Martinez five minutes from the end to give Argentina a deserved victory.
The Barcelona player then got his second free-kick off the tournament in stoppage time to round out a scoreline that was more convincing than the performance.
Lionel Messi bagged a goal and two assists for Argentina last night 🔥
He wants that #CopaAmerica title 🏆pic.twitter.com/Lm2YuSTWqW— Goal (@goal) July 4, 2021
It was his 76th goal for Argentina, taking him to within one of Pele’s South American records.
‘I’ve always said that individual prizes are secondary, we’re here for something else,’ Messi said. ‘We have an objective and we’re focused on that.’
‘It was a hard match, we know how difficult an opponent they can be. The important thing is we’ve taken another step forward.’
Argentina were unbeaten in 17 games coming into the game and they should have put the result beyond doubt earlier than they did.
