Star footballer Lionel Messi escaped a brutal tackle during Argentina’s win over Venezuela on Thursday (local time).
In the 27th minute of the match, Messi received a tackle from Venezuela Luis Martinez which the Argentine media are describing as “criminal”. Martinez’s brutal kick went straight to Messi’s left leg, leaving him in a heap on the ground as concerned teammates and fans watched, wondering what would happen.
At the age of 34, it’s not an exaggeration to say that tackle could have ended Messi’s career, but luckily the six-time Ballon d’Or winner escaped with just a bruised leg and played the entire 90 minutes.
Meanwhile, after a VAR check, Martinez was deservedly given a red card.
Here’s the video of the tackle:
Talking about the match, Argentina extended their unbeaten run to 21 games with a comfortable 3-1 win over Venezuela in their World Cup qualifier in Caracas.