Argentina forward Lionel Messi has revealed
his growing understanding with Gonzalo Higuain, after the pair combined to
inspire a 3-0 victory against Venezuela on Friday.
Messi laid on his international colleague's
brace before getting in on the scoring with a penalty, and the 25-year-old
acknowledged the potency of their relationship on the pitch.
"Higuain is a great player because he
scores a lot of goals," Messi told reporters after the match. "Every
time we play, our understanding together increases.
"Playing together is a great joy shared
amongst the members of the Argentina squad. The most important thing is to win,
no matter who makes the assists or gets the goals.
"We knew they [Venezuela] would try to
hit us on the break, but we had the ball, and scored the first goal. Space
opened up for us after that. We were patient."
Higuain shared similar optimism in reviewing
his performance with his Albiceleste team-mate, adding: "Every time Leo
looks forward, he knows I give him an option, as does [Ezequiel] Lavezzi.
"We are happy to give this victory to
our supporters who filled the stadium. We've been playing and winning well for
several games at home. We now have a big cushion in fourth place [of the South
American World Cup qualifiers]."
Alejandro Sabella's men next travel to Le Paz
where they face Bolivia on Tuesday, and Messi was left under no illusions as to
the scale of the task awaiting his team, after being on the receiving end of a
6-1 drubbing in 2009.
"The games we are playing are getting more
and more difficult," the striker concluded.
"We know we have to be ready for the
atmosphere of Le Paz, and know what happened the last time. Personally, it was
a very complicated affair, recovering from defeat.
"Hopefully, it will be different this time."
