Messi's best Messi of the year gives Argentina the Finalissima after beating Italy

Lionel Messi once again dazzled the world with his magic at Wembley as Argentina beat Italy 3-0 in the Finalissima, a new trophy created by UEFA and CONMEBOL to crown the best team among the continental champions of Europe and the Americas. The veteran Argentine superstar saved his best performance of 2022 for the big game after his poor performance this season with Paris Saint-Germain. This time, he tore apart the aging Italian defense before lifting the trophy.

It was the first time since 1993 that the champions of Europe and America were competing for a title and Wembley was packed for the historic match where the honor of being the symbolic world champion was disputed. Although the tournament does not have an official status for FIFA, Argentina arrived with a 31-match unbeaten streak dating back to July 2019. However, they had not beaten any European opponents during that run and were eager to silence the critics.

EL MENSAJE DE MESSI, luego de llevar a Argentina a conquistar un nuevo título. ¡Y en Wembley! pic.twitter.com/EhMBzM2qin

— SportsCenter (@SC_ESPN) June 1, 2022

No one was more eager to impress the crowds than Messi. All that was missing was a goal to crown the man-of-the-match performance of the Argentine genius, who is still among the best players in world soccer. Messi showed his class with a brilliant turn past Giovanni Di Lorenzo and assisted Lautaro Martinez to open Lionel Scaloni's side's 28th-minute rout of a depressed Azzurri squad.

Magic from Lionel Messi as he puts it on a plate for Lautaro Martínez to score! 🤩

Argentina take the lead against Italy 🇦🇷#ITAARG | #Finalissima pic.twitter.com/4yAJxaTF5x

— Premier Sports (@PremierSportsTV) June 1, 2022

Roberto Mancini's side is still suffering the embarrassment of losing the World Cup play-off and again conceded a goal in the added time. However, this time it was Lautaro who was the creator, as he sent Angel Di Maria racing past the Italian defense before prodding it past goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma for 2-0.

Ese 𝐌𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐎 🏆#Finalissima | @Argentina pic.twitter.com/3e5pYDW1Gr

— UEFA.com en español (@UEFAcom_es) June 1, 2022

Last September, Italy set a new world record of 37 international matches without defeat, but now Argentina is in the hunt for that milestone as the Azzurri lurch from one setback to the next. Substitute Paulo Dybala was on hand to give the scoreline a more realistic look, scoring virtually on the last play of the game after another mesmerizing run by Messi.

After winning the Copa America against Brazil in the summer of 2021, this is Lionel Messi's second great success with Argentina despite not being an official title recognized by FIFA. And he achieves it a few months before the World Cup in Qatar, where he will have his last chance to be crowned champion.