Lionel Messi's Incredible Movement Left Paraguay Player Absolutely Helpless

Lionel Messi absolutely dazzled with an incredible bit of movement to leave a Paraguay player helpless in his tracks.

During the first half of Argentina's clash with Paraguay, the Barcelona superstar picked up the ball and Richard Sánchez tried to stop him from launching his side's attack.

But Messi was ready to do battle with the 23-year-old midfielder and his dummy movement to the left caught him completely by surprise.

Footage has been posted online that showed Sánchez looking on as Messi dribbled away from him.

Sánchez opened the scoring for Paraguay in the first half, but the five-time Ballon d'Or winner pulled back an equaliser in the second half from the spot kick.

Argentina's second Copa América clash ended 1-1 and leaves them in a must-win situation for their next match against Qatar.

La Albiceleste boss Lionel Scaloni's admitted that his side were "lucky that [they] are still alive in this tournament."

The 41-year-old Argentine added: "Our first half was not good, we played with desperation at times and we couldn't control the play or create attacks.

"We had a very clear plan, but couldn't execute it as we kept losing the ball.

"They scored with their first attack and that caused us a lot of uncertainty.

"For a team like Argentina, which feels like it always has to win, the first blow is hard to take, but we assured the players at half-time that it was just one goal."

Messi has been under the spotlight since his return to international duty with Argentina and their poor start in the Copa América.

And fans defended the Argentina captain, 31, during his side's 2-0 loss against Colombia when footage showed him playing as a 'one-man team.'

But Messi has also been defended for Argentina's poor performances by ex-Juventus and England boss Fabio Capello and Atlético Madrid manager Diego Simeone.

Will Argentina make it to the knockout stages of the competition?

Let us know in the comments.

Featured Image Credit: @rickysbesos

Topics: Football News, Colombia, Football, Lionel Messi, Argentina, Copa America, Paraguay

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

@AdnanRiaz9