Lionel Messi reports no injuries after international duty and is ready to return to Barcelona and think about El Clasico.
Messi inspired Argentina to a 2-0 victory again Bolivia over Tuesday evening, scoring the second goal of the game from the penalty spot, and has Real Madrid, Saturday’s opponents, in his sights.
“I’ve got no physical problems and now it’s time to return to Barcelona to think about the Clasico, which will be a very demanding test,” Marca quotes Messi as saying post-match.
Messi added that he was content with his country’s showing over the international break, having netted his first goal of South America’s World Cup 2018 qualification programme.
“We got six points, which is what we wanted to have a good qualification round in which we went from worse to better,” he added.
“[Qualification is] very long, a lot of work remains ahead, but it is important we are already in [the qualification places.]”
It’s noted that Messi’s goal against Bolivia was his 499th for club and country, and his 50th for Argentina in his career, setting up Saturday’s fixture as the possible site of his latest landmark goal.
