Copa America: Lionel Messi nets trademark free kick in Argentina's 1-1 vs Chile [Watch]

Lionel Messi netted one of his trademark screamer free-kicks but Argentina were held at a 1-1 draw by defending champions Chile in their Copa America game on Monday.

Argentina went into the half-time break with a 1-0 lead but it was eventually negated by Chile forward Eduardo Vargas, who scored the equaliser for his country in the 57th minute.

The Messi-led Argentina were off to a great start at the Estadio Nilton Santos stadium in their opening game of the underway Copa America 2021, with forwards Lautaro Martínez and Nicolás González missing early chances. After 33 minutes into the first half, Argentina were handed a free kick, which was beautifully curled into the net by Messi from 25 yards away.

It was Messi's 57th free kick in his professional career, one more than arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo. The Argentina skipper now has the most number of free kicks among the active players. Out of the 57 free kicks, Messi has netted 50 for FC Barcelona and now seven for Argentina. While Ronaldo has 13 freekicks with Manchester United, 32 with Real Madrid and 10 with Portugal, according to Spanish publication Marca.

Putting Messi's dominance over the last few years into perspective, until 2017, Messi had just 31 free kicks to his name, while Ronaldo with 49 was well ahead in the race.

Among Argentina's players, Diego Maradona has scored the most number of free kicks – 62 and after Monday's strike against Chile, Messi is just five goals shy of matching Maradona's record for Argentina.

The free kick against Chile was also Messi's first non-penalty goal with Argentina in a competitive match since the 2018 World Cup fixture against Nigeria, while it was also his first direct free kick goal for his country since a game against Colombia in 2016.

Meanwhile, it was Messi's only third free kick in the Copa America, with two previous strikes came against Panama and the United States both in the 2016 edition.

"The game was complicated. We lacked calmness, having control of the ball and playing faster. The penalty changed the game. We wanted to start winning. Now we have Uruguay, which is also going to be difficult. But hey, we have to think about the next match now," Messi was quoted as saying in a post-match interview after 1-1 draw vs Chile.

Argentina's next fixture in the Copa America 2021 is against Uruguay that will see Messi and his former Barcelona teammate Luis Suarez face to face. Meanwhile, Chile next face Bolivia on Friday.