Superstar forward Lionel Messi was on fire in Argentina's 3-0 thrashing over James Rodriguez's Colombia in their 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier on Wednesday morning.
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The win was massively important for the Albiceleste in San Juan, after their disappointing 3-0 loss to Brazil last week, and a certain Messi got his nation off to the best start possible.
The FC Barcelona man opened the scoring 10 minutes into the clash with a superb free-kick from range. The captain's curling free-kick from 25 yards struck the underside of the bar before hitting the back of the net. Argentina had begun the match brilliantly.
Colombia, appearing to be rattled after conceding, were struggling to keep hold of the ball, but came close through a Radamel Falcao header after 20 minutes.
However, Argentina doubled their lead just three minutes later through the head of Lucas Pratto, who was set-up by Messi.
The Barca man picked up the ball on the right side of the field, cut on to his left, and played a delightful ball into the box for Pratto to head home.
The match began to turn sour as four players were shown yellow cards from the time the second goal was scored to half-time – the second 45 minutes promised drama.
Colombia started the second-half much better than they did the first, but they were still to create any clear cut opportunities that could threaten Argentina's lead.
Once again, though, momentum shifted back into the hands of the Albiceleste, with the likes of Angel Di Maria and Messi causing Colombian defenders all sorts of problems.
The Paris Saint-Germain attacker scored his country's third and final goal after 84 minutes, with Messi picking up his second assist of the night.
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The win saw Argentina climb from sixth to fifth on the South American World Cup qualifying table.
