Lionel Messi
won’t have mastered the nuances of Cockney rhyming slang by the time
his whistlestop tour of London’s East End came to an last night.
But
the West Ham crowd simply couldn’t ‘Adam and Eve’ it, after seeing
arguably the world’s best footballer strutting his stuff in their Upton
Park manor. And this football-loving corner of the capital was treated
to more than enough Messi magic.
Even
in second gear, the little Barcelona genius was sensational —
eventually winning this international friendly for his side with a
penalty.
VIDEO Scroll down for Sportsmail's International Big Match Stats: Croatia vs Argentina
Lionel Messi puts Argentina ahead from the penalty spot after his side had gone 1-0 down
Messi has his eye on the ball and makes no mistake from 12 yards as he makes it 2-1 to Argentina
Captain Messi celebrates giving Argentina the lead from the penalty spot against Croatia
Spectators
had queued long before kick-off to catch a glimpse of him, thousands of
them making sure they were in their seats just to watch him warm up.
Wearing his orange adidas boots, the Argentine then led his team-mates out to face an understrength Croatia team.
There
was a strong Premier League presence in their starting XI: Pablo
Zabaleta, Angel Di Maria, Sergio Aguero, Santiago Vergini, Erik Lamela
and Spurs newcomer Federico Fazio all featuring.
The
crowd gave Messi a rapturous reception when his name was announced. And
it took just five minutes for him to bring them to their feet; a
mesmerising run from right to left had the Croatia defence bewildered
only for Manchester City’s Aguero to fluff his lines in front of goal.
The
run sparked roars of ‘Arg-en-tina Arg-en-tina’, though they stopped
abruptly in the 11th minute when Croatia took the lead with a
wonderfully crafted goal finished by Anas Sharbini.
There
were first-half spells when Messi cut a frustrated figure, yet an air
of anticipation gripped Upton Park every time the ball was at his feet.
He
set up Aguero again in the 18th minute, playing a perfect pass to
outwit Marin Leovac, before Aguero and Di Maria forced goalkeeper Lovre
Kalinic into good saves.
Slowly
but surely, Messi’s influence grew. He stole a yard of space on the
edge of the area to play a one-two with Aguero, but Marko Leskovic
produced a goal-saving challenge.
Messi
combined with Cristian Ansaldi before rippling the side-netting with 10
minutes of the first half still to play. When Argentina were awarded a
free-kick on the edge of the area, hundreds of camera phones were at the
ready. But Messi’s free kick did not trouble Kalinic as Croatia held
their lead.
Sportsmail's International Big Match Stats: Argentina vs Croatia
Messi leads Argentina out on to the Upton Park pitch against Croatia on Wednesday night
Argentina full back Cristian Ansaldi scores the equaliser early in the second half
Atletico Madrid defender Ansaldi celebrates getting his side back in the game
Carlos Tevez (obscured centre) comes on in the second half for Argentina as Sergio Aguero is replaced
Former West Ham striker Tevez was given a huge reception by the fans at Upton Park when he came on in the second half
Another former Hammers player, Javier Mascherano, shows off his skills in front of the Upton Park crowd
Angel di Maria has a shot during the friendly between Argentina and Croatia at Upton Park
Thankfully,
for all in attendance, Messi returned for the second half. But the
Argentine was nowhere near the ball when the stadium erupted two minutes
later.
Carlos
Tevez, the second star attraction of the night, left his seat on the
bench to start warming up. The former West Ham striker remains a revered
figure for his heroics during the club’s controversial relegation
escape in 2007.
Fans
were cheering again in the 48th minute when Ansaldi’s long-range effort
took a deflection off Aguero to put Argentina level.
It was like Messi was a West Ham player when Leovac scythed him down in front of the dugout, supporters berating the Croat.
Croatia's Anas Sharbini (right) celebrates after scoring the opening goal for Croatia at the Boleyn Ground
Sharbini sees his shot go past Sergio Romero (not pictured) in the Argentina goal
Messi and fellow Argentina superstar Aguero looked shocked as Croatia take the lead
Messi reacts after being pushed to the ground on what was a difficult first half for the superstar
Then
in the 57th minute, Messi produced a moment of magic as Argentina took
the lead; delivering a slide-rule pass to Aguero, who was fouled in the
area by Kalinic. Messi, 27, stepped forward to score his 45th
international goal.
Chants
of ‘Messi, Messi’ echoed round Upton Park — but even that burst of
adulation was topped by the ovation Tevez was afforded when introduced
in the 61st minute. The announcer’s decision to introduce the Juventus
striker as ‘West Ham legend’ was, perhaps, pushing it — but it mattered
not as the decibel levels rocketed.
This night, though, belonged to Messi, even if he did miss a brilliant chance late on.
Even for Tevez, playing second fiddle to Messi is not to be sniffed at.
Messi stands in front of a sign at
Upton Park with the words 'We are Moore than a football club', a
reference to ex-captain Bobby Moore
Messi shows off his skills as he takes on the Croatia defence and tries to embark on a trademark run
Tevez waves to the Upton Park crowd from the bench after having spent a year at West Ham
A fan makes his way on to the pitch to take a selfie with former West Ham striker Tevez
West Ham fans hold up a picture of Tevez from his West Ham days during Argentina's friendly win over Croatia
Special one-off scarves were produced to mark the international friendly at Upton Park
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