Lionel Messi Scores Fastest Career Goal vs. Australia, Gets Hugged by Pitch Invader [VIDEO]

(Photo : PEDRO PARDO/AFP via Getty Images) Argentina's Lionel Messi vies during a friendly football match against Australia at the Workers' Stadium in Beijing on June 15, 2023.

Lionel Messi has continued his astonishing form for Argentina, picking up a milestone during their 2-0 friendly win against Australia.

The greatest player in the world delighted fans in Beijing by scoring the fastest goal of his career, coming just 79 seconds into the game.

Lionel Messi scored the fastest goal of his career against Australia today ⚡️🔥

pic.twitter.com/hu5FjJee8C
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) June 15, 2023

The strike from outside the box marked his 10th goal in the last seven games wearing the blue-and-white shirt.

Right before La Albiceleste doubled their lead, a fan wearing the iconic Argentina number 10 Messi shirt came onto the pitch to hug the Inter Miami-bound player. Authorities quickly chased him off as he ran around nearly the entire pitch evading capture.

Lionel Messi got hugged by a fan who ran onto the field wearing a No. 10 Argentina shirt during a 2-0 friendly win over Australia.

The audience shouted “new-bee” which means “cool” or “well one” in Chinese.pic.twitter.com/czeiWQw6ET
— Joshua J. W.（淡推） (@callmexiaobianr) June 15, 2023

From the corner kick right after the incident, Argentina set up a play to find substitute center-back German Pezzella for a header.

Asian Fans Get a Taste of the Lionel Messi Show

Argentina's friendly match against Australia, held in front of 68,000 spectators at the Workers' Stadium in Beijing, was part of a two-match exhibition tour of the World Cup winners in Asia.

The squad is set to visit Indonesia next to face off against the country's national team on June 19 in Jakarta.

An overwhelming majority of the fans in Beijing wore the famous blue-and-white shirt.

"I can't see any yellow shirts anywhere! I just really hope Lionel Messi gets a little percentage of the shirt sales because I've never seen so many Argentine number 10 shirts in my life," Australia manager Graham Arnold stated before the match.