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Lionel Messi led Argentina to the Finalissimo trophy after beating a lackluster Italy 3-0 on Wednesday, June 1 at Wembley.
It was a game that saw Giorgiono Chiellini mark his last appearance for the Azzurri, with the defender retiring after a lengthy, brilliant career. However, it wasn't the best way to end that journey, as his defensive unit failed woefully in handling the might of Argentina's attack.
The Italians tried to enter the final third and set the tempo of the game with a number of chances but none found their mark. Their poor clinical approach came back to bite them as La Albiceleste took their chances in stride and opened the scoring.
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A brilliant turn and drive into the final third from Messi saw a distraught Italian defense easily break down, unable to stop him. Within seconds, the mercurial Argentine reached the edge of the six-yard box, where he squared it on for Lautaro Martinez to finish from close range.
On the cusp of half-time, it was Angel Di Maria who added the second goal of the night for Argentina, as Italy's defense floundered once more.
Martinez received a brilliant long-pass from his goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and slinked past a slow Leandro Bonucci to kick-start the attack for his side. Before the Azzurri defense could stop him, the Inter star threaded the ball towards Di Maria, who clipped it over Gianluigi Donnarumma and into the goal.
Lionel Messi and Argentina hold off Italy, as the Azurri put up a disappointing performance
The second half continued in the same light for the Azzurri, with their stumbling defense looking wobbly at times and their attack unable to create much.
Argentina made 17 attempts on goal with 10 being on target while the Italians could manage just four shots on target out of their attempted seven.
A remarkable moment to capture how poorly Italy played was a sloppy back-pass that saw the Italians nearly concede the third goal. Bonucci passed poorly to his goalkeeper Donnarumma, who wasn't expecting it to go towards the goal. The ball nearly entered the net, with the keeper scrambling to save it and almost hitting the upright.
The last kick of the game saw yet another goal from Argentina, as Italy simply couldn't hold off the South Americans. Messi was on hand to provide yet another assist, this time to Paulo Dybala, who drove the ball beyond Donnarumma's reach.
While Messi and Co. were effortless in attack, they also kept the Italians out of a game where both sides were expected to be equals. Here is how Twitter reacted to the brilliance of the Argentines and the sloppiness of the Italians:
