Copa America 2019: 'LM' dazzles for Argentina, but it's Lautaro Martinez not Lionel Messi

Andy West 10:55 29/06/2019
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  • Are they finally finding a winning formula?

    Argentina’s performance in their 2-0 quarter-final victory over Venezuela was by far their best of the Copa America so far, and it was made even more encouraging that they did it despite an off-night from skipper Lionel Messi.

    After a long time in the doldrums, La Albiceleste appear to be on the charge – and they’re heading for a mouthwatering collision course with fellow South American giants Brazil in the competition’s last four. Find out more with our post-match talking points.

    MESSI BANISHES MARACANA NIGHTMARE? KIND OF…

    Lionel Messi

    The easy headline to draw from the game is that Messi banished the nightmare memory of his previous trip to the iconic Maracana stadium for the 2014 World Cup final.

    But branding this game as Messi’s ‘Rio Redemption’ would be overselling his contribution, because in truth he was unable to make much of an impact and – aside from a deep outswinging corner which led to the opening goal – he had little direct influence over the outcome.

    The second goal is a good example of how the game largely passed Messi by: Rodrigo De Paul did well to retrieve possession on the right wing and drove forward, bypassing Messi to cut a square pass into Sergio Aguero on the edge of the box.

    Rather than laying off the ball for Messi, the Manchester City striker turned to shoot, and when Venezuela keeper Wuilker Farinas badly fumbled the ball, Gio Lo Celso was on hand to convert.

    Messi particularly struggled during the first half, when the front pairing of Lautaro Martinez and Aguero enjoyed a much better connection with each other than either of them did with Messi, and at times it appeared the Barcelona captain was unsure whether he should drop into midfield to pick up possession or stay high up the pitch to link with the strikers.

    On the whole, this was probably his worst performance of the season…but he will have enjoyed, at least, the outcome.

    ARGENTINA FINALLY FINDING BALANCE

    Argentina

    Perhaps perversely, Messi’s rather subdued performance might not be such a bad piece of news for Argentina. In fact, it could be the best thing that has happened to them for a very long time.

    So often in recent years, La Albiceleste’s tale has been a case of ‘Messi or nothing’. Either their captain would come to the rescue, or they would fail. That led to a culture of dependency which reached extreme levels during last summer’s World Cup finals in Russia and the opening couple of games in Brazil for this Copa America.

    Throughout that period, Argentina seemed to have no collective plan other than trying to give the ball to Messi and hoping for the best. On the occasions they couldn’t give the ball to Messi, they floundered horribly, lacking any kind of functional team structure to work effectively without the input of their star player.

    Finally, though, they seem to have stumbled across the one key element which has been so badly missing for so long: balance. In this game, Messi did not play well but it didn’t even matter, because Argentina’s overall structure was good enough. If that continues, they may yet go all the way.

    NO LM? NEW LM

    Lautaro Martinez shone for Argentina.

    Lautaro Martinez shone for Argentina.

    Although the expected ‘LM’ superstar was unable to step up and prove decisive, another one certainly did as Lautaro Martinez continued his ascent with a well-taken opening goal and an eye-catching all-round performance.

    Martinez has been on the fringes of the Argentina team for a while now, but missed out on a place in last year’s World Cup squad behind veterans Aguero and Gonzalo Higuain, and also came into this tournament as a back-up to Aguero after a mixed season with Inter Milan.

    But after failing to play any part in the opening loss against Colombia, Martinez was swiftly elevated to the starting eleven by manager Lionel Scaloni and has stayed there ever since, getting on the scoresheet with an early opener in the qualification-clinching victory over Qatar.

    He was outstanding in this quarter-final, starting off by teeing up an early chance for Aguero and then pouncing on a miss-hit from Aguero to cleverly flick home the opener.

    His mobility, movement and work rate dovetailed nicely with Aguero, and their blossoming partnership adds another dimension to an attack which has been over-reliant on Messi for too long. Finally, Argentina are starting to look like a team and Martinez is playing an integral part.

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