Messi 'deals with' Brazilian star who provokes him into calling him a coward

The South American Derby between Brazil and Argentina at the Maracana stadium was tense and ugly, both on the pitch and in the stands.

The scuffles between fans from both sides caused the match to be interrupted for 30 minutes. On the pitch, Messi and his teammates decided to leave for the locker room, before the situation was resolved more peacefully.

After returning to the field so the match could take place, Brazilian star Rodrygo, who plays for Real Madrid, had a provocation with Messi, according to lip analysis from TyCSports, the 22-year-old striker cursed number 10 ascoward".

Messi also reacted strongly to Rodrygo by grabbing the back of the opponent's neck, replying: "You guys are world champions, why are you being cowardly? Look at your mouth.”.

Argentina won 1-0 against Brazil right at Maracana stadium, where Samba has never lost in the history of World Cup qualifying.

The only goal of the match came from a set piece, with Celso taking a corner and Otamendi rising higher than everyone else to head the ball past Alisson in the 63rd minute.

In the 81st minute, Brazil was left with only 10 men on the field after Joelinton fouled De Paul, the referee standing nearby did not hesitate to pull out a red card.

Messi himself shared after the match: “We decided to go into the dressing room because that was the best way to calm things down. Otherwise, tragedy could have happened.".

The number 10 captain also spoke out against the way Brazilian police treated Argentine fans in an effort to prevent clashes between fans of both sides.