Messi buries Aussies as fan invades pitch

Lionel Messi has been hugged by a instrumentality who ran onto the tract wearing a No.10 Argentina during a 2-0 affable triumph implicit Australia successful which the World Cup champion scored the fastest extremity of his career.

Messi was lasting adjacent the country emblem successful the 2nd fractional of Thursday night's lucifer erstwhile the instrumentality ran onto the tract and embraced him.

The seven-time Ballon d'Or victor appeared to beryllium amazed arsenic the instrumentality approached, but past enactment his limb astir the interloper's backmost earlier information guards rapidly moved in.

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A instrumentality runs onto the transportation to hug Soccer superstar Lionel Messi during a affable against Australia. (AP)

The instrumentality bolted crossed the tract and high-fived Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez connected the different extremity earlier doubling backmost crossed the writer and tripping. The invader was yet carried disconnected the field.

Moments later, Messi helped acceptable up the 2nd extremity for German Pezzella successful the 68th infinitesimal astatine the Worker's Stadium successful Beijing.

Earlier, Messi had scored with astir his archetypal touch, lone a week aft deciding to permission Paris Saint-Germain for Inter Miami.

Emerging to monolithic cheers from the Chinese fans, galore of them wearing the celebrated blue-and-white nationalist squad shirts, Messi scored aft 1 minute, 19 seconds successful Argentina's 3rd crippled since beating France successful the World Cup last successful December.

Argentina's Lionel Messi, left, watches arsenic information officers prosecute the instrumentality during play. (AP)

Australia midfielder Mathew Leckie slipped wrong his ain half, allowing Enzo Fernandez to provender Messi, who stepped astir Aiden O'Neill connected the borderline of the country and curled the shot past the diving Mat Ryan.

With 103 planetary goals, Messi trails lone Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (122) and Iran's Ali Daei (109).

Messi came adjacent again minutes aboriginal but Australia soon worked itself into the match, overmuch similar it did successful the 2-1 nonaccomplishment to Argentina astatine the World Cup successful Qatar. Mitch Duke's changeable was pushed onto the station by Martinez.

Messi past had different accidental earlier halftime but the 35-year-old guardant changeable implicit with lone the goalkeeper to beat.

In the 2nd half, Messi again went close, this clip from a escaped footwear successful the 65th minute.

Argentina's Lionel Messi gets the shot past Australia's Keanu Baccus (left) and Aidan O'Neill. (AP)

He was past progressive successful his team's 2nd goal, passing the shot adjacent the country emblem to Rodrigo De Paul, who crossed for Pezzella to caput home.

A abbreviated clip later, Messi recovered Julian Alvarez successful the country but his debased changeable was pushed past the station by the diving Ryan.

Argentina volition adjacent question to Jakarta to look Indonesia connected Monday, portion Australia volition look England successful October arsenic it prepares for the Asian Cup successful Qatar successful January.

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