Lionel Messi put in a vintage performance on Saturday as he led Argentina to a massive Round of 16 win over Australia, 2-1. Messi had Twitter absolutely buzzing after coming up with what was his best outing in the FIFA World Cup thus far.

As expected, Messi was already trending on social media even before kick-off. It was a historic evening for the 35-year-old, who was playing in the 1,000th professional game of his illustrious career:

It was a grand occasion for the Argentine legend, and he made sure to step up to the plate when it mattered the most. Messi opened the scoring with a strike in the 35th minute as he gave his squad a crucial 1-0 advantage just before the break:

It may be hard to imagine, but this goal was Messi's first-ever in the World Cup knockout stage. What made it extra special was the fact that this was Messi's ninth career goal in the World Cup Finals, which now has him surpassing Diego Maradona's tally for Argentina:

Right now, only Gabriel Batistuta has more goals than Messi in the World Cup. Messi will be hoping to surpass Batistuta's 10-goal tally with two more goals in the tournament.

Australia made the game interesting toward the end, though. They found the net in the 77th minute, cutting down the deficit to 2-1 after Julian Alvarez scored for Argentina in the 57th minute. It was an exciting finish, to say the least, as the Australians created several chances right up to the final whistle.

In the end, however, it was Messi and Co. who got the win, thereby securing their spot in the quarterfinals.

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Thanks to Messi's heroics, Argentina will now face the Netherlands in the quarterfinals next Friday. At this point, the GOAT is just three wins away from capping off his majestic career with the elusive World Cup trophy.