World Cup 2018: 4 lessons Argentina must learn from the game against Nigeria

#2 A Liberated Messi is half the job done for Argentina

Lionel Messi scored the opening goal for Argentina against Nigeria

Messi struggled against Iceland. To the bewilderment of many, he struggled again in the game against Croatia. But you can’t keep the best footballer in the world silent for three consecutive games, can you?

The Barcelona wizard arrived at the greatest show on earth and how!

A change of formation worked wonders as Gonzalo Higuain, tasked with a false no 9 role, often dropped deep to attract the markers, thereby liberating Messi to make his forward runs at will.

This resulted in the opening goal as Messi timed his run to perfection to latch onto an exquisite long ball by Banega and fired it past Nigerian goalkeeper with ease.

The right-back Mercado also had a role to play in freeing up Messi as he often made those runs and kept the Nigerian wing-back occupied as Messi played a more central role.

The 31-year-old dribbled superbly, passed incisively and more than anything, he looked like the Messi we all revere as fans.

Prior to this game, a lot was being talked about maximizing Messi’s potential in an otherwise misfiring Argentina side. Well, Sampaoli has a blueprint now and he should stick to this going forward in the tournament.