Messi celebrates his 800th goal between Argentina fans
The 35-year-old seven-time Ballon d'Or winner's stunning free-kick in the last minutes of the game perfectly sealed the night.
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Lionel Messi and his teammates raising replicas of the World Cup (Reuters)
Lionel Messi completed a night of unbridled joy with the 800th goal of his career as world champions Argentina celebrated their homecoming with a 2-0 friendly victory over Panama in Buenos Aires on Thursday.
The 35-year-old seven-time Ballon d'Or winner's stunning free-kick in the last minutes of the game perfectly sealed the night.
It was an emotional night as fireworks started overhead before kick-off at the impressive Monumental stadium where 83,000 lucky fans managed to get tickets among the more than 1.5 million people who tried.
Messi, coach Lionel Scaloni, and numerous players came onto the pitch with their children and several seemed on the brink of tears as fans sang "Muchachos", the anthem of Argentina's victorious World Cup campaign in Qatar.
After the match, the party continued, with every member of the World Cup winning squad given a replica trophy to lift, surrounded by their families.
"I always dreamt of this moment, being able to celebrate with you (the fans), being able to come to my country to lift a Copa America, a World Cup. It's the best thing there is," expressed Messi, who was presented with several awards after the game.
Panama were organized and disciplined and managed to frustrate the new world champions for 78 minutes before their defenses were finally breached.
In the second period, Messi and his friends ensured Panama would not be party poopers. With 21-year-old Thiago Almada scoring the first goal, and with a minute to go, Messi was given a free-kick within shooting range -- his fifth of the match -- and this time he scored it into the top corner, declaring the end of the match.
