"You're a coward, and I don't like you!" - Messi gets angry at the referee

Paraguay are not usually an easy opponent for Argentina and this was once again evident in Asunción. Alfaro's side took all three points and the ‘Albiceleste’ still remain at the top of the table, but they did not finish a match with a good feeling in a game in which they were more intense than they should have been. A 2-1 win was controversial, as Lionel Scaloni's side repeatedly complained about a possible sending off of Omar Alderete that could have changed the game, as the Getafe centre-back scored his side's winner.

Lautaro broke the deadlock in the 11th minute, Sanabria equalised in the 19th minute and, minutes later, Alderete was shown his first yellow card in the 33rd minute. Argentina's complaint, and especially Messi's, came when in the 37th minute it was the defender himself who cut out a good individual action by the No 10 on the right flank. Leo received, waited for the ideal timing and with a light touch dribbled past Alderete, who brought down the former Barcelona star. If we take a snapshot of the play at the time of the foul, it was a clear counter-attack for the visitors.

As a result, the entire Argentina bench stood up to call for a second yellow for the Paraguayan defender. Messi, too, insisted on it. But Anderson Daronco decided not to caution the Paraguayan centre-back, who only four minutes earlier had been booked for the first time. The Getafe defender took a gamble... and it worked out well because he held on for the whole game. Messi, at half-time, did not let it go and approached the referee to say "You're a coward. I don't like you" among his many protests before going to the dressing room.

The Argentinian complaint is fuelled by the fact that it was Alderete himself who was responsible for scoring Paraguay's winner through a lateral free kick that the man of the match headed home. 

 

November 15, 2024