Well, that's called "love is blind." Messi had the third lowest passing accuracy and the highest number of possessions lost, along with the highest foul commitment. Yes, Messi was the man of the match, but the assist? Oh please! And the goal? It was more of a gift. The crowd was the main culprit, as Ochua couldn't save it. Otherwise, a keeper like his cavalier can save those while sleeping.
Messi is undeniably one of the best, but that doesn't mean he always needs to be credited. It was Martinez who deserved all the glory.
Point understood and there's no wrong in it. There are a number of reasons regarding # of possessions lost and lowest passing accuracy because the man is man-marked. There's no person in the world cup that is more man-marked than Messi.
I wasn't able to watch the full match so I wasn't able to see Martinez performance. But I'm all to be corrected. Just that goal wasn't a gift, it was accurately driven onto the bottom right corner of the post. And the a long-range shot like that is always a banger. The accuracy of getting in even just inside the goal is difficult so it's always pleasing to see long-range shots like that.
It was Messi who scored and chipped it for an assist to Fernandez. That isn't blindness, that is recognition that changed the fate of the game. If Messi was given lots of free space like other players do, I can't imagine how he can do things the way he wants it.
Praise should be louder than criticism. Messi and Ronaldo are on another level. If someone even breaks their record, they will always be the best players the game has ever seen. What I was trying to say is that they are loved so much that people go unnoticed. Martinez and Di Maria were the best players in that match.
Players like Messi need just a moment to change everything, and that happened. He will be marked and always will be, but it's about overcoming that. To do that, Messi should stay up front more and leave the playmaking to Dybala. Argentina is also lacking firepower.
Thanks for pointing out, I totally agree that Di Maria and Martinez deserve the recognition too. But most of the fans are too focused on the goal and assist aspect. I like that you pointed this out because this shows you truly understand the game much more than others do. Though I disagree to give the playmaking to Dybala. If you noticed in the Copa America, the attack starts with Messi and usually ends with the attackers. He stretches out to the field just to gain control of the ball and he finds that space of his teammates at an extremely perfect timing. What Messi needs is a midfield that understands it and attackers that have full energy to create aggression.