Lionel Messi suffered a rare off-night in front of goal as Argentina made a winning start to their Copa America campaign on Thursday night.
Second-half goals from Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez sealed an opening 2-0 victory for the holders in Atlanta, where they saw off a spirited Canada side to get their title defense up and running.
Yet, it could have been an even more comfortable night at the office had Messi not uncharacteristically fluffed his lines on two glaring occasions.
He first squandered a superb chance to double Argentina’s lead when he took the ball round Canada keeper Maxime Crepeau in the 64th minute, only for defender Derek Cornelius to stick out his head and deny him with the goal gaping.
And 14 minutes later the 36-year-old was left red-faced once more when he raced clean through on goal and saw a chipped effort trickle past the post.
Lionel Messi missed two glorious chances in Argentina’s opening Copa America fixture
Fans are not used to seeing Messi come up short in these situations, meaning some were quick to express fears that ‘father time’ could be catching up with him ahead of his 37th birthday in four days’ time.
One wrote: ‘Father Time catching up with Messi. That’s the take.’
Another claimed: ‘Messi is cooked as a finisher unfortunately. Injuries and age have caught up with him. But his playmaking is still best itw.’
A third posted: ‘Our Messi is running out of gas. He’s getting old’.
‘For the first time in my life time I have seen Messi miss two one on one chances,’ another pointed out.
While one went as far to say: ‘MLS has ruined Messi’
While he failed to stick the ball in the back of the net himself, Messi still enjoyed a satisfying night’s work after teeing up Martinez to kill the game late on.
The Argentina captain threaded a superb pass into the path of his teammate, who coolly converted from close range to seal an opening victory for the champions.
He also created the first goal after heading a pass through to Alexis MacAllister, who side-footed a pass to Alvarez while crashing into an onrushing Crepeau, leaving the Manchester City forward with an empty net to tap into.
He first squandered a superb chance to double Argentina’s lead when he took the ball round Canada keeper Maxime Crepeau and failed to sweep home into an empty net
The 36-year-old legend later missed a one-on-one after running clean through on goal
Messi fell to the ground in disbelief after fluffing his second big opportunity of the evening
‘We knew it was going to be a tough game, very physical,’ Messi said afterwards. ‘In the first half there was little space.
‘Luckily we found the goal quickly in the second half. We could have played better but even so, it was complicated.
‘Most of our rivals play differently against us, you have to be patient and have control when opportunities arrive.’
Thursday’s game also saw Messi break the all-time record for Copa America appearances, with his 35th outing surpassing the previous high set by legendary Chile goalkeeper Sergio Livingstone.
He also became the first Argentinian in history to represent his country at seven Copa America tournaments.
Next up for Argentina is a clash with Chile in their second group outing at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium on Tuesday.
