Lionel Messi's Highlights Against Peru Go Viral Ahead of Ballon D'or Showdown

• Lionel Messi was back to his best with two goals against Peru
• The Argentine surpassed his friend Luis Suarez to become the all-time leading scorer in CONEMBOL WC qualifiers
• Highlights of the 36-year-old against Peru are now going viral

Lionel Messi showed the world once again why he is arguably the best player on the planet with a masterful display against Peru in the World Cup qualifiers.

There was initial doubt that Messi would feature in the starting lineup, but the 36-year old was given a clean bill of health and he was up to his usual tricks once the game got underway.

With Inter Miami not playing competitively again until 2024, Messi has all his focus on the national team, and it showed from his exemplary showing against Peru.

In the 32nd minute, the deadlock was broken as Messi fired in a trademark shot to the right-hand corner, as cited on Marca.

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10 minutes later and Messi was on the score sheet again, this time finding the left corner with another strike that showed his versatility. Credit has to go to Julian Alvarez, who read the Inter Miami star’s run and left the ball for him to slot home.

Messi magic

Aside from the goals, highlights from the game showed Messi was back to his best as he was a constant menace in all areas of the pitch.

At some point, he entertained fans by sitting down a defender twice using a body feint in the same move.

Most of Argentina’s attacks also revolved around Messi, who found the net in the second half, but his goal was chopped off for offside.

His latest performance only put up a strong case for him ahead of the Ballon d’Or awards at the end of October.

Interesting reports emerged on Tuesday, October 17 as football insider Fabrizio Romano suggested the Argentine had already won his eighth stand-out award.

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Messi likens Argentine to Barcelona

As Sports Brief earlier reported, Messi spoke after the Peru win with some interesting sentiments as he likened the current Argentina team to Barcelona under Pep Guardiola.

Speaking after the game, as quoted by Diario Ole, the captain expressed joy in the team and admitted they keep getting better with each game.

Lionel Scaloni has managed 65 games in charge of the national team, won 48, drew 12 and lost five and have lost just once in the last 50 games. He also led the team to three trophies.