Lionel Messi - sportstiger

Picture Credit: Twitter

Argentina striker Lionel Messi proved ultimate dominance in the game as he single-handedly destroyed Estonia in a friendly match on Sunday evening. The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner scored five goals and overtook Hungary's great Ference Puskas amongst the all-time international top strikers.

Messi also shone in Argentina's 'Finalissima' victory over Italy at Wembley on Wednesday, netting two goals in a 3-0 win. Messi, who has 86 goals under his belt in 162 appearances, opened his account on Sunday with a penalty kick in the eighth minute as he watched goalkeeper Matvei Igonen make a mistake netting the ball into the bottom right corner.

The 34-year-old doubled Argentina's lead just two minutes before half-time by adding another goal. Messi hit a 47th-minute hat-trick and then helped to a further two goals to add to his Argentina tally in the 71st and 67th minutes. Notably, this is the second time in his career that he has netted five goals in a single match; the first came for Barcelona in a Champions League game against Bayer Leverkusen in 2012.

The PSG forward also became the first player to have netted five times in a single European Cup or Champions League clash and an international match at a senior level. Estonia became the 30th nation he's scored against for Argentina, and he's now on a staggering 769 career goals for club and country. Although Messi had not the best productive season for Paris Saint-German, scoring just six times in Ligue 1, he has been performing the best with his Argentina national team.

Commenting on Messi's jaw-dropping performance, Lionel Scaloni, the Argentina national team coach, said, "I don't know what else to say about Messi; it's challenging. You have no words left to describe him. Everything he generates is unique, and it's a pleasure to have him in this group. I only want to thank him. It's a pleasure to see him."