A video has gone viral over the internet recently which shows Lionel Messi’s s reaction to a last-minute crucial save made by Emiliano Martinez against France’s Randol Kolo Muani in the thrilling World Cup final which Argentina won on penalties.
The win meant that Lionel Messi won the trophy that has eluded him his entire career. He had talked about what it meant to him before the World Cup and even came so close to winning it in 2014 only to have his heartbroken after an extra-time winner by Mario Gotze. But this time around, fate had something different in store for Messi but it wouldn’t have been possible without the crucial save Emi Martinez made.
The game started with Argentina attacking the French goal in numbers with constant threats and won a penalty which was put away by Messi in the 23rd minute. Lionel Scaloni’s side kept up the intensity and was rewarded with yet another goal by Angel Di Maria in the 36th minute, a goal which would go down as one of the best scored in a World Cup final.
ARGENTINA WIN THE WORLD CUP 🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/KG97ZV4wGx
— B/R Football (@brfootball) December 18, 2022
The Argentines were in leading for most of the 90 minutes and it seemed that the writing was on the wall for them to win but there was one obstacle in their way, Kylian Mbappe, the French superstar scored a brace inside two minutes to equalize the score and take the game to extra-time.
Argentina produced another deadly counter-attack in the extra time which was finished by none other than Messi and that seemed the end but Mbappe wasn’t done yet, he scored his hattrick in the 118th minute of the game and put the scoreline to 3-3.
The extra time seemed all but done and the teams, coaches, and fans were now ready to go into a penalty shootout but just before the final whistle, Randol Kolo Muani found himself in on goal one on one against Martinez and looked set to win it for France but Emi Martinez produced a save for the lifetime in the crunchiest of moments which left all the viewers awestruck.
Messi’s reaction to Emi Martinez’s last minute save vs France pic.twitter.com/i4wfAu6tFS
— Stop That Messi (@stopthatmessiii) February 3, 2023
Even though Martinez’s save left everybody inside the stadium as well as people watching at home stunned, Lionel Messi seemed to be so chill about it and fans don’t know how to react after the video showing his reaction has gone viral, Messi could be seen walking without any reaction in the video.
Lionel Messi’s reaction to Emi Martinez’s last-minute World Cup save stuns fans
We went to Twitter to see how fans reacted to the video of Lionel Messi’s reaction:
A fan could be seen having a theory of the match being fixed and that is why there is no reaction at all. The fan said that Messi’s reaction was of a man who already knew what the script was and knew that the goal wouldn’t be scored.
They wrote: ”He said – chill I know the script.”
He said – chill i know the script.
— Kunal {SUPER ANGRY} (@PunalXAngry) February 3, 2023
Another fan could be dismissing the theory of the match being fixed and saying that Messi can’t have known that Martinex would make a save as it is irrational to think that Kolo Muani would hit a shot straight into Martinez’s legs in the last minute just according to the script.
They wrote: “Those who are saying “that’s a reaction of a man who knew the script wasn’t going to change” quick question, so Mauni purposely kicked the ball straight to Martinez’s leg during the crucial last minute on the clock huh???🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔”
Those who are saying “that’s a reaction of a man who knew the script wasn’t going to change” quick question, so Mauni purposely kicked the ball straight to Martinez’s leg during the crucial last minute on the clock huh???🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
— Andile Danisa (@AndileDanisa3) February 4, 2023
It seems that the viral video has sparked another debate around the thrilling World Cup final which left fans stunned and emotional after Messi lifted the trophy while wearing a traditional royal Bisht.
Why was Emi Martinez in trouble after winning the World Cup?
The man who made the victory possible for Argentina by making a crucial last-minute save and then helping Argentina win on penalties was soon in trouble for his actions after the final. Emi Martinez was awarded the Golden Glove award for the Best Keeper of the Tournament but he did an act that was described as ‘indecent’ by certain sections and meant trouble for the Aston Villa goalkeeper.
He was further criticized for his actions back in Argentina where he was seen with a doll having Kylian Mbappe’s image on it and was seen making fun of it. The visuals didn’t go well with the fans of the PSG player who criticized Martinez for not respecting the player and lacking sportsmanship even after Mbappe scored a hattrick against him.
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